Sino-Indian relations

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Sino-Indian relations
Location of India and China
IndiaIndia China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China
India China

As Sino-Indian relations , the bilateral relations between the be People's Republic of China and the Republic of India , respectively. Cultural, economic and political relationships between the Indian subcontinent and the Chinese cultural area go back to antiquity. Modern relations between the two countries began in 1950 when India severed formal ties with the Republic of China (Taiwan) and accepted the government of the PRC as the legitimate government of China.

History of Sino-Indian Relations

The history of Sino-Indian relations goes back to the 2nd century BC. The Silk Road served as a transport route for the exchange of goods, goods and ideas. In the 1st century AD, Buddhism was passed on to China from India.

Transmission of Buddhism from India to China

The origins of Chinese Buddhism can be traced back to ancient India. From the 3rd to 7th centuries, Buddhism developed into an influential religion in China . The first mediators of Buddhism were traders and artisans who carried their beliefs along the Silk Road from India to China. The Chinese Tang Dynasty (581–907) is considered to be the heyday of Buddhism. The mindset and the arts were influenced by Buddhism, such as the techniques of painting and Gandhara art.

In India, Buddhism was replaced by Hinduism and later by Islam . Currently, there are more Buddhists in China (6.1 percent) than in India (0.8 percent). In China there are around 20,000 Buddhist temples and several Buddhist monasteries, as well as around 200,000 Buddhist monks.

Political Relations

In the political relations between India and China, the border conflict in the Himalayas , which has been going on for decades, has created distrust on both sides. In 1962 the disputes escalated into a month-long border war . In April 2013, the two countries experienced a serious crisis when Chinese troops advanced into Indian territory and set up a military camp.

Border conflicts

Jawaharlal Nehru when a Chinese delegation visited India in 1951

When the British withdrew from India and India gained independence in the late 1940s, they left behind arbitrary boundaries such as the McMahon Line . For decades, there has been disagreement about the exact course of the 3500-kilometer border, which led to numerous conflicts, such as the Indo-Chinese border war of 1962. The then incumbent Indian Minister for Foreign Affairs Jawaharlal Nehru tried to get involved appease, but conflicts arose nonetheless over Tibet, which is a geographical and political buffer zone for the two states.

Border war of October 20, 1962 and subsequent border conflicts

On October 20, 1962, China attacked India because of the unclear borders. India was not prepared for this war. Although it only lasted a month, relations between the two countries deteriorated as a result in the 1960s and 1970s and have been characterized by mistrust ever since. The then Soviet Union supported India in this war, which led to the further deterioration of the already tense relationship between China and the then Soviet Union . China turned to the Indian enemy Pakistan .

In 1971 India signed a peace, friendship and cooperation treaty with its former Chinese ally, the Soviet Union. In return, China signed a treaty with India's enemy Pakistan. Also in 1971, China joined the United Nations and, unlike India, which joined the United Nations a year later, became a permanent member of the Security Council with the right to veto.

From the 1990s, the relationship improved through state visits until a border agreement was reached in 1993 that was supposed to seal a ceasefire between the two nations.

In May 2020, the first incidents involving the military from both countries occurred in the Sikkim border region . The border conflict escalated when a deadly fight broke out between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakh on June 15, 2020 . According to the Indian armed forces, at least 20 Indian soldiers died. 43 Chinese soldiers were also killed or injured in the fight, according to Indian public television Doordarshan and several other Indian news outlets (including the Press Trust of India and Asian News International ). The Indian military also said senior military officials from the two armed forces were meeting to defuse the situation.

Conflict over water resources

The water supply in both countries has enormous potential for conflict. India's water supply is guaranteed, among other things, by the Brahmaputra , which has its source in the Himalayas on Chinese territory. China's water demand has increased in recent years due to the drought in the northeast of the country and increasing economic growth. The ambitious south-north water transfer project , in which China is directing water from the Himalayan region towards Beijing , and the construction of hydropower plants along the Brahmaputra are causing water shortages in Bangladesh and India, so that conflicts are looming.

International climate policy

As the great powers of Asia, India and China make a major contribution to the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, as they are among the world's best in terms of energy consumption due to their large population. With annual emissions of 6.1 billion tons in 2016, China was in first place ahead of the USA, India in third place. Both countries suffer from enormous air pollution, so that they are forced to cooperate in this area. At the climate summit in December 2015, India set lower targets than China, in which it did not want to reduce greenhouse gases, but both countries spoke out in favor of a binding treaty under international law. After the US and China ratified the treaty of the Paris Climate Summit in 2015, only India was missing as the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide emissions. On October 2, 2016, India also agreed. With India's ratification, an important step was taken towards the conclusion of the first globally binding climate agreement.

Bilateral economic relations

Since the beginning of the 21st century, China and India have been seen as future markets with annual growth rates in gross domestic product of 5% to 10% and more. Both are members of the so-called BRICS countries , which are among the emerging economies.

India's economy had an economic growth of 7.62% of the gross domestic product in 2016. While China's economy only grew 6.59% in 2016; thus the growth in economic output declined significantly. In recent years, China and India have come to appreciate each other as partners, especially in the economic sector. Both countries hope for the dynamically developing exchange of goods between the two countries, which could help them to achieve further economic growth. China has become one of India's largest economic partners. The bilateral trade volume increased more than twenty-fold between 2000 and 2012. However, India feels threatened by the economic power of China and the so-called "pearl necklaces" strategy, in which China enters into economic cooperation with neighboring countries of India and thereby surrounds it. In recent years, however, a pragmatic normalization of relations between China and India has been observed.

Economic comparison of China and India

China and India are often compared in economic terms. Both states have by far the largest populations in the world. The growth potential and sales markets for global trade are enormous, and labor markets are cheap.

Compared India appears as a location for investment and outsourcing ( outsourcing position) more attractive than China, because it offers a mix of freiheitlichem discussion climate, cheap labor and English as a lingua franca. China, on the other hand, remains an authoritarian state, whose labor is becoming more expensive. However, India would have to improve its infrastructure, as traffic routes and power grids are already overloaded. The financing of infrastructure projects would be conceivable through foreign capital withdrawals, but this would require the Indian economy to open up more to foreign investment.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Sino-Indian Relations  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wilfried Rörich: Return of Cultures - The New Powers in World Politics . 1st edition. Nomos, 2010, p. 50 .
  2. ↑ Wilfred Röhrich: Return of Cultures. The new powers in world politics. 1st edition. Nomos, 2010, p. 53-54 .
  3. ↑ Wilfried Röhrich: Return of Cultures - The New Powers in World Politics . 1st edition. Nomos, 2010, p. 71 .
  4. ↑ Wilfried Röhrich: Return of Cultures - The New Powers in World Politics . 1st edition. Nomos, 2010, p. 90 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Michael Radunski: Partners and rivals. Federal Agency for Civic Education, April 7, 2014, accessed on January 29, 2017 .
  6. ↑ TK Balakrishnan: Comparing Asian Politics. India, China and Japan. Arise Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi 2014, p. 107 .
  7. ↑ Jonathan Holslag: Peace in Chinese. Why war threatens in Asia. edition Körber Foundation, Hamburg 2015, p. 64 .
  8. ↑ TK Balakrishnan: Comparing Asian Politics. India, China and Japan. Arise Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi 2014, p. 109 .
  9. ↑ Karl Pilny: Dance of the Giants: India and China shape the world . Campus Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3-593-38098-8 ( online [accessed January 27, 2017]).
  10. ↑ DER SPIEGEL: Himalayas: India and China want to settle the border dispute peacefully - DER SPIEGEL - politics. Retrieved June 17, 2020 .
  11. ↑ a b tagesschau.de: India and China: dead in collision in the Himalayas. Retrieved June 16, 2020 .
  12. ↑ DER SPIEGEL: More than 20 dead in a confrontation in the Himalayas - DER SPIEGEL - Politics. Retrieved June 17, 2020 .
  13. ↑ India Today Web Desk New DelhiJune 16, 2020UPDATED: June 16, 2020 11:23 PM Ist: China suffered 43 casualties during face-off with India in Ladakh: Report. Accessed June 17, 2020 (English).
  14. ^ Pooja Chaudhuri: India-China dispute: 43 Chinese soldiers killed? Media outlets and journalists mislead. In: Alt News. June 16, 2020, accessed June 17, 2020 (UK English).
  15. ^ Matthias von Hein: China and India - rival peoples of billions. Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Frankfurt am Main, October 27, 2012, accessed on January 29, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Largest countries by share of CO2 emissions worldwide 2016 | Statistics. Retrieved January 30, 2017 .
  17. ↑ Berliner Morgenpost - Berlin: India also ratifies the Paris World Climate AgreementIndia ratifies the Paris World Climate AgreementIndia ratifies the Paris World Climate AgreementIndia ratifies the Paris World Climate Agreement. Retrieved January 30, 2017 .
  18. ↑ India: Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth from 2006 to 2016. Statista, 2016, accessed on February 16, 2017 .
  19. ↑ China: Growth in real gross domestic product (GDP) from 2006 to 2016. Statista, 2016, accessed on February 16, 2017 .
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