There have been few clear signs that the Asian giants are getting along any better, with their border stand-off since 2020 still unresolved – a situation S. Jaishankar, India’s external affairs minister, described in April as “competitive, sensitive and challenging”.
It was a different story five years ago, when Xi congratulated Modi on the day of his landslide election win, describing India as an “important neighbour” to which “I attach great importance”.
It could be that the silence from Xi after Modi’s win is another snub from Beijing because of New Delhi’s slow but steady tilt towards Washington. Xi also skipped the Group of 20 summit held in India last year, sending Premier Li Qiang instead.
Modi’s message to Taiwan’s new leader, William Lai Ching-te – denounced by Beijing as a “separatist” and “troublemaker” – could also have something to do with it.
With Modi retaining his top ministers, including Jaishankar, it is widely expected that his coalition government will keep broad policy continuity, including its efforts to forge closer ties with the US and regional countries such as the Philippines to counter China.
At a time when China is locked in a Cold War-style rivalry with the US and complaining about an increasingly hostile external environment, it will be a missed opportunity if it does not show a willingness to improve ties with its neighbour. It is Beijing, after all, that insists the border dispute should be kept separate from political and economic ties – or as Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, it “should not define the overall relationship”.
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Submission Statement:
There have been few clear signs that the Asian giants are getting along any better, with their border stand-off since 2020 still unresolved – a situation S. Jaishankar, India’s external affairs minister, described in April as “competitive, sensitive and challenging”.
It was a different story five years ago, when Xi congratulated Modi on the day of his landslide election win, describing India as an “important neighbour” to which “I attach great importance”.
It could be that the silence from Xi after Modi’s win is another snub from Beijing because of New Delhi’s slow but steady tilt towards Washington. Xi also skipped the Group of 20 summit held in India last year, sending Premier Li Qiang instead.
Modi’s message to Taiwan’s new leader, William Lai Ching-te – denounced by Beijing as a “separatist” and “troublemaker” – could also have something to do with it.
With Modi retaining his top ministers, including Jaishankar, it is widely expected that his coalition government will keep broad policy continuity, including its efforts to forge closer ties with the US and regional countries such as the Philippines to counter China.
At a time when China is locked in a Cold War-style rivalry with the US and complaining about an increasingly hostile external environment, it will be a missed opportunity if it does not show a willingness to improve ties with its neighbour. It is Beijing, after all, that insists the border dispute should be kept separate from political and economic ties – or as Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, it “should not define the overall relationship”.