If US President Donald Trump’s belligerence has pushed India to improve relations with China, would he be deserving of the Nobel Prize? Maybe, if the results of the Modi-Xi Jinping interaction prove to be positive even in the short term. India and China have prospered in their own ways over the past three decades. India has to advance democratically, while the will of the Chinese leadership is imposed on the people. Both systems have advantages and shortcomings, but one may well ask – If China is so rich, why cannot it afford democracy?
China may have advanced materially and technologically, but its civilisational impulse remains imperial – all kingdoms near and far must kowtow to the Chinese Emperor – in the present the one who heads the Communist Party, which is in effect the country’s government. This has provided the single-minded approach to advancing the country’s interests. Missteps cause enormous harm, as happened during the Cultural Revolution during the time of Mao, but later ‘reformers’ like Deng Xiaoping transformed China’s economy with just as much force. All this while India struggled to ‘accommodate’ systems, ideologies, regional and sectoral interests, etc., while striving for economic growth. Even now, PM Modi’s talks with Xi Jinping are being portrayed by the opposition as surrender rather than tactical engagement.
Whatever the results of the meeting, one significant purpose is to send a message to the US and the western bloc that there are ‘other’ options available in the present global scenario. Even a small increase in Indo-China strategic cooperation would considerably shake up the traditional power structure. If China realises the benefits of improving relations with India enough to quit its territorial ambitions, the consequences would be hugely positive.
It must be noted that while the aggressive push given to its strategic objectives in ‘third world’ countries by projects such as the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative initially paid off, there are now increasing pushbacks almost everywhere. People have recognised the traditional imperialism in the objectives. Pakistan’s Baluchistan is a good example of this. So, a softened image and more sophisticated policy is the need of the hour. If the level of cooperation with India is raised, some of its credibility as a benefactor rather than an exploiter might increase. So, it is not as if it is just India that will get something from tapping into the Chinese economy. The ongoing global developments have come as a reality check, and it is time to learn the right lessons.
