In the 1950s, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru coined the phraseHindi-Chini Bhai Bhai, which in Hindi means “India and China are brothers”. Though little remains of Nehru’s dream, the Sino-Indian relationship has come a long way in the last 60 years. Two developing countries sharing a 2,100-mile border, India and China have known war and peace, competition and partnership. Nowadays, the two countries share the rest of the world’s attention as rising economic powerhouses. Like rival siblings, each envies the other: India has tried to emulate recent Chinese economic development, struggling to keep its IT service exports growing in pace with Chinese manufactured exports. Despite India’s rapid growth, China always glows a bit brighter compared to India. China, on the other hand, resents the international community for condemning its semi-dictatorship while commending India’s democracy. The recent awarding of the Nobel Peace prize to Liu Xiabo, a Chinese rebel and political prisoner, only further reinforces the global community’s stance against Chinese authoritarian politics.
Sixty years ago, Sino-Indian relations were at a peak. India stepped forward in 1950 as one of the first countries to recognize the People’s Republic of China. The two shared a history of political change and economic turmoil: both were poor struggling economies trying to provide for large populations, both had ushered in a new political system (India gained independence from Britain in 1947 and China established communism 1949). In 1954, they signed the Panchsheel Agreement, recognizing the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence which include mutual respect for national sovereignty, mutual non-agression, mutual non-interference and peaceful coexistence.
With the Sino-Indian War in 1962, however, relations between Indian and China reached a new low. Disputes over the Himalayan border between India and China—the McMahon Line, in particular—led to a series of border skirmishes, which devolved into outright military offensives. After the war, several territories—Aksai Chin, in particular—remained disputed. Though in the 1990s, India and China signed the Sino-Indian Bilateral Peace and Tranquility Accords to maintain peace along the Line of Actual Control, even today territorial disputes between India and China continue.
Fast-forwarding to 2010, the polar tendencies of Sino-Indian relations have transitioned into a balanced but testy relationship. Growing economic ties are a good sign of cooperation: India-China bilateral trade has grown around 50 percent annually in the last five years; in 2010, it is estimated to reach nearly $75 billion. Despite growing economic ties, the relationship remains fraught with snarls. Beyond the vestiges of the Sino-Indian War, India and China have several diplomatic disputes. Since many of India’s rivers originate in the Tibetan Himalayas (that is, in China) and in the absence of a Sino-Indian water sharing treaty, India’s water supply is left at China’s mercy; if China decided to dam the rivers, India’s population would be cut off from one of its primary sources of fresh water. Adding to the mess is Chinese support of Pakistan, India’s long time rival in Kashmir.
If China and India looked at the larger global picture, the two countries’ squabbles would seem relatively insignificant. The stage is set for the birth of a new economic order, and India and China are leading the pack. Their collective economic development can only be enhanced by increasing trade and co-operation. The rich cultural heritage of vibrant dynastics, similar value systems (Buddhism, China’s dominant religion, was born in India) tie the two countries together. That two countries joined by history, fate, geography and economics refuse to arrive at a political consensus is absurd.
Logically, there seems only one way forward: open bilateral cooperation. The two-day G-20 Summit in Seoul that started yesterday is a major opportunity for India and China to show their commitment and mettle in combating the international economic crisis. Unlike most of the world’s major economies, China and India maintained high growth rates throughout the recession and were relatively unscathed by the global financial meltdown. Instead of focusing on their petty cross-border issues, China and India need to present a united front on the international stage and to emphasize on the importance of a G-20 resolution not just for their own economies, but for the global economy. Fortunately, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appears to have realized India’s central role in changing global. In a statement made before his departure for Seoul, he noted that “[a]s the Indian economy moves to a higher growth path, and opens to the world, our stake in a stable, inclusive and representative global economic and financial system will only grow.” China has similarly expressed its interest in advancing a global agenda, though its exchange rate policies have put the Chinese directly into combat with the U.S. government, a significant stumbling block in G-20 negotiations.
Sino-Indian cooperation at the G-20 Summit is just one step toward drafting a new Panchsheel. Perhaps Nehru’s approaching birthday (14th November) will remind the Indian and Chinese governments that ‘Hindi-Chini’ are, after all, ‘bhai-bhai’.
