Looking Into the Future

By Lin Minwang

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held their second informal meeting on October 11-12 in the southern Indian city of Chennai， which set the tone for the development of future bilateral ties.

During the meeting， Xi said China and India， as ancient civilizations with several thousand years of history， have carried on exchanges and mutual learning until the present. The two countries ancestors overcame various obstacles to carry out extensive exchanges and promote the development of literature， art， philosophy and religion， which have greatly benefi ted both sides.

Modi said China and India have become important emerging economies， stressing that enhancing exchanges and cooperation is of great signifi cance to the two countries and will promote global progress and prosperity. The wisdom from the two countriesancient and profound civilizations can provide inspiration for solving various challenges facing the world today， the prime minister added.

Xi visited India five years ago shortly after Modi was fi rst elected prime minister of India. This tradition was continued as Xi visited again after Modis second successful election bid this year. Both trips highlighted the importance of Sino-Indian ties.

Peace and friendship

Xis visit to India was agreed upon during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization（SCO） Qingdao Summit in June 2018， when the two countries announced that the second leaders informal meeting would be held in India. The China-India leaders informal meeting， initiated in 2018 when it was held in Wuhan， capital of central Chinas Hubei Province， has played a significant role in bilateral relations. It has provided a special mechanism for China and India， the worlds two largest developing countries， to communicate on global， long-term and strategic issues.

Although there have been historical frictions between the two countries， there have been thousands of years of exchanges， mutual learning， peace and friendship， which have always been the norm in bilateral ties.

In 2020， China and India will welcome the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. India was the first nonsocialist country to establish ties with the Peoples Republic of China （PRC）. Even before the founding of the PRC in 1949， the two countries supported each other in their struggle for independence from imperialist and colonial powers. Moreover， Sino-Indian ties made great headway after the normalization of bilateral ties in 1988 and the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s.

Border issues have been the biggest hurdle affecting Sino-Indian relations. Confrontations have repeatedly occurred in the border area.

Through negotiations， the two countries have made some progress on these issues in recent years and have reduced their military deployment in the area. The two sides have also established various long-term confl ict resolution mechanisms and communication mechanisms for border personnel， which have contributed to maintaining peace and stability in the area. With such efforts， a border control and management mechanism has been formed and the two have gradually built some basic consensus.

Strategic trust

Another progressive step taken by the two countries is cooperation in the economic and trade areas. In 1990， the trade volume between China and India was only $170 million， but in 2000， the number climbed to $2.9 billion and surged to $95.5 billion in 2018.

More importantly， trade and economic cooperation between China and India has consisted of more than just pure trade in goods. An increasing number of Chinese enterprises have gone to India to establish factories， and Chinese firms have built a large number of Indian infrastructure projects， which provide a strong potential for future and long-term cooperation.

After the Cold War， the simultaneous rise of China and India constituted the groundwork for todays global landscape， which is undergoing major changes. SinoIndian relations have transcended the bilateral scope and increasingly gained global infl uence. As Xi said during his visit to India in 2014， if China and India speak with one voice， the whole world will listen.

The two countries have more and more cooperation and interests that overlap on the global level. They maintain close communication and coordination in multilateral mechanisms including the UN， the World Trade Organization， BRICS， the SCO and the Group of 20. In areas like climate change， energy， food security， international fi nancial institutional reform and global governance， they also share extensive common interests and cooperation opportunities.

However， with the increasing gap in national strength between China and India， the latters strategic concerns about China have deepened. For example， it worries about Chinas economic cooperation with South Asian countries and Indian Ocean littoral countries. Thus， its attempts to“balance” China with external forces have become increasingly evident， a situation caused by a lack of mutual trust.