Several Details of the China India Military Chiefs Level Talks | China India | Details

According to the website of the Ministry of National Defense, from August 13th to 14th, the Chinese and Indian armies held the 19th round of military commander level talks on the Indian side at the Mordo/Chushule meeting point.

Both sides have engaged in active, in-depth, and constructive communication on resolving the remaining issues on the western section of the China India border. Under the joint guidance of the leaders of both countries, the two sides exchanged views in an open and forward-looking manner, and agreed to maintain communication and dialogue momentum through military and diplomatic channels to resolve remaining issues as soon as possible. During this period, both sides agreed to maintain peace and tranquility along the China India border.

On the 16th, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that China actively evaluates the progress made in the 19th round of the China India military commander level talks.

The Governor of Chang'an Street noticed that this meeting lasted for a rare two days, and some foreign media reported that the issuance of a joint statement had only occurred 8 times in 19 rounds of discussions.

Zhang Shujian, Assistant Researcher at the South Asian Institute of the China Institute of Modern International Relations, analyzed that although the content of the joint statement during this meeting was short, the wording conveyed a positive signal: previous joint statements emphasized "honesty", but this time, consensus and progress were highlighted, emphasizing "maintaining communication", indicating that China and India have the conditions and ability to continue to control border issues.

India needs to change its understanding of border issues

Zhang Shujian pointed out that the boundary issue between China and India is complex and long-lasting. In 2014, Modi, the leader of the Indian People's Party who was committed to promoting Hindu nationalism, was elected as Prime Minister. After he took office, India vigorously promoted infrastructure construction and increased military strength on the Indian side of the border area, leading to an escalation of the risk of confrontation between the border defense forces of the two countries. This subsequently led to the "Tonlang standoff" and even the "Galwan Valley conflict", directly causing casualties on both sides.

Zhang Shujian believes that the logic of the Indian side is to use the border issue as a pretext to exert pressure on China in various other aspects, forcing China to make concessions on the border issue. At the same time, by maintaining the pressure on China, it can exchange for the support of domestic nationalists, alleviate the strategic anxiety caused by the widening gap in economic strength compared to China, and enhance relations with the US and Western forces.

This is clearly a misconception, and if India's own perception does not change, it will be difficult to properly resolve the border issue.

The talks between the Chinese and Indian military commanders have been ongoing for over three years and have made positive progress recently. At the same time, the increasing high-level dialogue and contacts between China and India have sent a clear signal that the border issue between China and India is controllable and the bilateral relationship between China and India is stable. China and India are both leaders of developing countries. Based on their own development needs, both sides continue to promote normal bilateral exchanges conditionally and gradually under the premise of properly managing differences, which is in line with the common understanding and interests of China and India.

The boundary issue is not the entirety of China India relations

Zhang Shujian pointed out that the Sino Indian border issue is essentially a legacy of colonialism. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, India, as an emerging independent country that freed itself from colonial rule after World War II, had a honeymoon period with China. Although China and India did not resolve the border issue at that time, they still reached a high-level political consensus. Decades of communication and development experience have shown that China and India can effectively control disputes and resolve differences, and border issues are not the only aspect of China India relations.

After the epidemic, the world situation has undergone significant changes, and the international order led by the United States has become incapable of global governance. China and India are both neighboring countries, developing countries, and major powers on the international stage. The basic understanding of promoting the continued development of China India relations is the principle of mutual benefit.

In fact, the connotation of China India relations is rich and should not be hijacked by border issues, allowing certain countries outside the region to enjoy fishing benefits.

According to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China, the bilateral trade volume between China and India exceeded 100 billion US dollars in 2021, with over two-thirds of it coming from China's exports. In 2022, the bilateral trade volume between China and India reached a record high of 135.984 billion US dollars.

Jim O'Neill, a British economist who first proposed the concept of "BRICS", stated in an interview in May this year that although "de dollarization" has not yet truly occurred, the BRICS countries composed of emerging countries can challenge the hegemonic position of the US dollar.

"I do believe that as the two largest emerging world countries, if China and India can reach a strong consensus on various matters... then this may accelerate the end of the dominance of the US dollar," O'Neill said.

Not long ago, at the BRICS conference held in South Africa, Wang Yi, Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office, met with Indian National Security Advisor Dowar. This was the second high-level contact between China and India in July. At the ASEAN meeting on July 15th, Wang Yi also met with Indian Foreign Minister Su Jiesheng.

During his meeting with Su Jiesheng at the invitation, Wang Yi stated that as the top two developing countries and eternal neighbors in the world, China and India's common interests clearly outweigh their differences, and achieving common development and prosperity has global demonstration significance. Both sides should support and achieve each other, rather than consuming and doubting each other. We need to focus our energy and resources on our respective development, improving people's livelihoods, and accelerating revitalization, without allowing specific issues to define the overall relationship. I hope that India and China can move towards a mutually acceptable solution to the border issue.