ONE of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s toughest challenges is betterment of relations with China. Modi has already talked to Chinese Premier Li Keqing on the phone. China offers great economic opportunity while being a strategic threat. The UPA’s China policy flip-flopped. As a result, India could not maximize the benefit of economic cooperation. At the same time, it ignored security considerations claiming political convergence with China. Modi has put great emphasis on the economic aspect of his foreign policy. China is the trickiest component of the South East Asia and Asia Pacific picture. The Chinese economy may slow down but India will still lag behind. There is need for an economic partnership which eases Chinese investment in India. Bilateral trade between the two countries is likely to touch $ 100 billion in 2015. India’s trade deficit is $ 40 billion. Frequent high level exchanges have been mooted. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi is coming and Modi has invited President Xi Jinping. The two heads of state will also interact at the BRICS summit in Brazil in July.
Nevertheless, the military imbalance remains. The border dispute continues to be prickly. Modi has indicated that he means to be tough. The government of India will have to beef up the country’s northern infrastructure and modernize its armed forces. China’s South Asian and East Asian neighbours expect greater Indian engagement in the region to meet the Chinese challenge. The question is: can India maintain equidistance with China and the neighbouring countries which are in enmity with India’s giant neighbour?
