China & India: A partnership to shape the 21st century

Today is a day many hoped for but feared would never come.

After years of intermittent tensions at their shared border, China and India’s bilateral relations are experiencing an exciting thaw. Given the cooperative progress in Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s meeting with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar, and subsequently with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is commendable to see the two nations taking thoughtful steps to transcend historical grievances and avoid being drawn into the wider geopolitical game being played out.

The effect of this budding alliance is already evident, as seen in the Chinese Ambassador to India’s comment on Trump’s tariffs on Indian exports: “Give the bully an inch, he will take a mile.”

I have for many years argued that the relationship between China and India may be the most consequential in changing the course of human history in the 21st century. Their strong and collaborative partnership could lift hundreds of millions out of poverty in the region—including the people of Pakistan and Bangladesh. It would transform the sub-continent, and thus, the world.

Sadly, in the warped world of geopolitics that we live in, this is not in the interest of various actors—especially the US and the global military industrial complex.

The United States, evidently fearful of losing long-held control over global affairs and thus the global economy, cannot come to terms with these new realities, as seen in White House advisor Peter Navarro’s recent patronising remarks asking India to “behave” and “stop cosying up” to China and Russia. These tired, blunt-force tactics are unsurprising, as this form of Western hegemony has long sought to ensure Asia and other regions including the Middle East, remain divided and dependent on their intervention – whether as colonial rulers, aid providers, or self-styled “global saviours”. This is primarily executed through economic dominance and intimidation and is often backed by violence and blatant disregard for international law. They refuse to accept that a multipolar world is proven to be better at helping achieve the international community’s aspirations for justice, fairness, and win-win cooperation—a much-needed goal for today’s world which remains on track to bear the devastating consequences of 30+ ongoing conflicts.

China has, in recent decades, been viewed as a pillar of Asia, leading not only the spread of prosperity but also the resistance against Western geopolitical dominance. With China and India resolving their differences, it is now time for India to step up as a complementary force in spreading prosperity and peace whilst countering hegemony, reshaping the global order, and forging its own path as a regional leader. In a world where too many accept geopolitical hegemony as a given and still blindly believe that an outdated Western world order—even one led by incompetent Western leaders like Trump—is the norm, this is the moment when the partnership between China and India can finally deconstruct decades-old modes of thinking moulded by centuries of imperial rule. Wang Yi and Narendra Modi’s acknowledgment of working towards a multipolar Asia and multipolar world is testimony to their pursuit of a reformed global governance system: one that sets the hopeful tone for peace-led development going forward.