DELHI – India and China have signed a number of agreements aimed at strengthening their respective economies, the most important of which will see $US 20 billion invested into India’s infrastructure over the next five years.
The deals were struck during a rare Chinese trip to India, during which China’s President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi. Money is expected to be invested primarily into India’s railways and industrial parks – two key sectors that the new Indian government is actively seeking to improve.
Speaking during a press conference, Xi said: “We should move towards peaceful, cooperative and inclusive development. It is important that we strengthen exchanges at all levels.”
However, despite the Chinese leader’s insistence on peaceful cooperation, talks were overshadowed by recent border disputes between the two Asian superpowers, and the amount of money agreed upon is widely thought to have been less than expected.
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On the morning that the two leaders met, soldiers from both countries were arrayed against one another in the Himalayas; a standoff that began last week and has continued since Chinese troops attempted building roads in the area. “I have expressed concern over the incidents along the border between the two nations,” Narendra Modi said. “We must resolve the boundary issue at the earliest.”
But whether India’s new leader truly believes disputes on the border can be permanently resolved is another question. Prior to Modi’s majority election in May, the prime minister was unequivocal in his opposition to Chinese expansionism; an opposition that he further reinforced during his recent state visit to Japan, when he eluded to a country that encroached upon territory in the East China Sea.
It was also during Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan that the East Asian country promised to invest US$ 35 billion in India’s infrastructure – US$ 15 billion more than that of China. The significance of that difference is disputable, but commentators have been quick to point out that the amount China has pledged is much less than it could, and indeed should, invest in India. Its decision to promise a lesser amount than Japan may be party influenced by the agreement that was struck between Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, and the sensitive comments on the East China Sea that Modi subsequently made.
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The relationship between India and China is further strained by a number of other factors, including India’s strong links with the U.S. in the Asia-Pacific, China’s close ties with Pakistan, and the presence of the Dalai Lama in India.
The long-term effects of the agreements made between India and China are therefore not clear, and there is still a lot of scope for bilateral relations to go awry. The deal may indeed precipitate stronger economic ties and further investment between the two countries, but it may also simply serve to delay further territorial disputes.
The leaders of China and India both seem to be clear in their hopes for the former of these two eventualities. “We need to ensure that there is peace along the border” said Narendra Modi, “and if there is, we can work together in mutual cooperation.”In order for Asia’s two superpowers to continue their respective development, it is to be hoped that peace can indeed be found and maintained.
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