With geopolitical rivalry between India and China being fought fiercely through several obvious yet unmistakable means, what remains surprising is Beijing’s usual pontification about the need for practical cooperation between the two countries to achieve ‘dragon-elephant tango’ – a metaphor it frequently uses to present its stand on ties with New Delhi. However, the truth is that China has yet to work out meaningfully to win India’s trust and make their partnership worth emulation for others in the world.
“Stable and constructive ties between India and China are not only to our benefit, but that of the world as well. This is best done by handling relations based on mutual respect, mutual interest, and mutual sensitivity.” External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said in his opening remarks during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Wang Yi in Beijing on July 14.
Jaishankar visited China to participate in the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting. This was the first visit of EAM Jaishankar to China in the last five years since the June 2020 Galwan Valley incident. Chinese media hailed Jaishankar’s visit to the East Asian country with Global Times, terming it as “significant” for “rebuilding mutual trust through cautious and pragmatic engagement.” In its editorial column, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party-led government said, “Jaishankar’s visit to China becoming a focus of public attention is no coincidence; it reflects the long and difficult process of repairing bilateral ties.”
Ice melted between the two Asian giants after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan in Russia in October 2024.
In the same month, two countries completed troops’ disengagement at the two friction points in eastern Ladakh’s Demchok and Depsang Plains. Special Representatives of India and China—National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Wang Yi held a meeting in Beijing on December 18, 2024.
In less than one-and-a-half month after NSA Ajit Doval’s visit to China, Vikram Misri flew to Beijing on January 26 to attend the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister level meeting to discuss the next steps for India-China relations. Last year, EAM Jaishankar also held meetings with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi multiple times.
With geopolitical rivalry between India and China being fought fiercely through several obvious yet unmistakable means, what remains surprising is Beijing’s usual pontification about the need for practical cooperation between the two countries to achieve ‘dragon-elephant tango’. However, the truth is that China has yet to work out meaningfully to win India’s trust and make their partnership worth emulation for others in the world
Earlier this year, the two ministers met on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in South Africa. In June NSA Doval and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made separate visits to China to attend the SCO meetings. Despite this flurry of high-level visits, China has not done away with its anti-India approach.
Beijing’s heavy-handed approach
While de-escalation is yet to be achieved on the Line of Actual Control, the heavy-handed approach of China to smother India’s EV, electronics, and solar sectors by imposing restrictions on the supply of rare earth magnet and other critical materials, has triggered a concern in New Delhi. India, as per a report, is 93% dependent on China for rare earth magnets—crucial for EV motors and batteries.
China has also put restrictions on the supply of tunnel boring machines for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. According to Global Times, seven out of every 10 tunnel boring machines used worldwide come from China. Chinese authorities have, in fact, doubled down on curbing technology transfer and equipment exports to India. It has imposed strict controls on supply of gallium and germanium, the minerals which are crucial for solar power and semiconductor industries.
In the latest development, it could be seen with Apple. The American multinational and technology company’s main assembly partner, Foxconn Technology Group, has been unable to bring Chinese staff or additional specialised machinery from China to India. Last week, Foxconn had to withdraw from its plants hundreds of Chinese nationals, even as they were facilitating and managing productions of Apple products in India.
China has also stopped shipments of water-soluble, micronutrient, slow-release speciality fertilisers to India. These fertilisers are critical for fruit, vegetable, and horticulture crops. According to media reports, India imports around 80% of its speciality fertilisers from China.
While de-escalation is yet to be achieved on the Line of Actual Control, the heavy-handed approach of China to smother India’s EV, electronics, and solar sectors by imposing restrictions on the supply of rare earth magnet and other critical materials, has triggered a concern in New Delhi. India, as per a report, is 93% dependent on China for rare earth magnets—crucial for EV motors and batteries
China’s continued support to Pakistan
Beijing has no qualm in extending its support to Pakistan. It has speeded up construction of Mohmand hydropower project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in north-western Pakistan. It is a multi-purpose hydropower project meant to generate 800 megawatts of electricity, control floods, and supply around 300 million gallons of clean water each day to Pakistan.
In fact, China decided to fast-track the dam project, weeks after India suspended the Indus Water Treaty following the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22. But this is not an isolated instance of Chinese support for Pakistan. During the India-Pakistan four-day conflict in May, Beijing was on the forefront in extending military and strategic support to Pakistan.
On the recent conflict, Deputy Chief of the Indian Army General Rahul Singh said, “Pakistan was in the front. China was providing all possible support—81% of the military hardware with Pakistan is Chinese…China is able to test its weapons against other weapons, so it is like a live lab available to them.”
Pakistan had used China supplied PL-15 missiles, J-10 and J-17 fighter planes, and HQ-9 air defence systems in the course of its four-day conflict with India. While this highlight the growing Pakistan-China military cooperation, what has truly unmasked Beijing’s intentions is its tacit support to Islamabad-backed terrorism.
India’s resolution to seek sanctions on The Resistance Front (TRF), the LeT offshoot which was involved in the April 22 Pahalgam attack, was blocked by China in the United Nations Security Council. Earlier Beijing, as per the National Investigation Agency (NIA) dossier, blocked sanctions on Abdul Rauf Asghar, Sajid Mir, Abdur Rehman Makki, Talha Seed, Shahid Mehmood Rehmatullah—all five terrorists who have been involved in several terror attacks in India, including the 26/11 attacks, the 2019 Pulwama attacks, the 2016 Pathankot attack, the 2001 Parliament attack and the IC 814 hijack.
Beijing has no qualm in extending its support to Pakistan. It has speeded up construction of Mohmand hydropower project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in north-western Pakistan. It is a multi-purpose hydropower project meant to generate 800 megawatts of electricity, control floods, and supply around 300 million gallons of clean water each day to Pakistan
Aggressive position on the Dalai Lama
Beijing sees the 14th Dalai Lama as a separatist figure. Yet it wants to put its stamp on the selection of the next Tibetan spiritual leader. On July 6, the Nobel Peace laureate turned 90. However, four days before his 90th birthday, he announced that he will have a reincarnation after his death, and that the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a non-profit body which was set up in 2011, will have the sole authority to recognise his reincarnation.
“I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue.” the Dalai Lama said in a video message to Tibetan Buddhists in Dharamshala. The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama holds profound significance not only for the Tibetan Buddhism but also for the future of Tibet, a region which is highly valuable to China because of its strategic location and rich natural resources.
Writing in The Hill, India’s ace strategic expert Brahma Chellaney said, “The Tibetan Plateau, often dubbed the “Third Pole,” is Asia’s primary freshwater source and a cradle of biodiversity. It is the starting point of the continent’s major river system, which sustains over 2 billion people downstream.” Chellaney further said that a 2023 scientific study found an atmospheric connection between the Tibetan Plateau and the Amazon rainforest – “proof that the world’s environmental fate is tied to Tibet’s future.”
In 1951, Tibet was annexed by China. But more than seven decades have passed and it continues to maintain its spirit of resistance. The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 to escape a likely assassination by Chinese soldiers, is regarded as a central figure of this enduring struggle. The Dalai Lama’s influence among Tibetans, both inside Tibet and across the world is a cause of concern for China. He continues to speak of cultural survival, spiritual freedom, and Tibetan autonomy, reminding the world that the question of Tibet is unresolved.
Beijing sees the 14th Dalai Lama as a separatist figure. Yet it wants to put its stamp on the selection of the next Tibetan spiritual leader. On July 6, the Nobel Peace laureate turned 90. However, four days before his 90th birthday, he announced that he will have a reincarnation after his death, and that the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a non-profit body which was set up in 2011, will have the sole authority to recognise his reincarnation
However, amidst this what unsettles China is the prospect of his successor, chosen without its control, will carry forward this legacy, gaining international recognition and continuing to challenge Beijing’s claim over Tibet. “The Dalai Lama’s reincarnation must follow the principles of domestic recognition, the ‘golden urn’ process, and approved by the central government, in line with religious traditions and laws.” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.
However, the Dalai Lama made it clear that except for the Gaden Phodrang Trust, “no one else has any such authority to interfere in the matter.” India has endorsed Tibetans led traditional process of selecting the next Dalai Lama. “Reincarnation has to be decided by the established conventions and the desire of the present Dalai Lama. No one else has the right to decide on the next Dalai Lama. It is the most important defining institution for all the Tibetans and all those who follow the Nalanda tradition of Buddhism.” Kiran Rijiju, Union Minister for Parliamentary and Minority Affairs, said.
Kiran Rijiju along with Rajeev Ranjan Singh, another Union Minister, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, and a Minister from Sikkim, Sonam Lama attended the Dalai Lama’s birthday celebrations in Dharamshala on July 6, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended warm wishes to the Tibetan spiritual leader, calling him “an enduring symbol of love, compassion, patience, and moral discipline.” Writing a special post on X, PM Modi said, “His message has inspired respect and admiration across all faiths. We pray for his continued good health and long life.”
Despite repeated high-level engagements, symbolic gestures, and calls for mutual respect, China’s actions continue to contradict its rhetoric of reconciliation with India. From continuing border tensions and putting hurdles in the way of manufacturing India’s strategic industries to openly backing Pakistan—militarily and diplomatically, China’s conduct reflects more coercion than cooperation
But despite repeated high-level engagements, symbolic gestures, and calls for mutual respect, China’s actions continue to contradict its rhetoric of reconciliation with India. From continuing border tensions and putting hurdles in the way of manufacturing India’s strategic industries to openly backing Pakistan—militarily and diplomatically, China’s conduct reflects more coercion than cooperation. It’s consistent shielding of Pakistan-based terrorists at the UN further highlights its disregard for India’s core concerns.
While China continues to speak of “dragon-elephant tango,” it has yet to take credible steps toward building trust. True normalisation of ties cannot be achieved through optics alone. For any meaningful reset, Beijing must demonstrate genuine intent, by respecting India’s sovereignty and desisting from economic and security hostility. Until then, the road to stable and constructive relations will remain long and uncertain.
–The writer is a senior journalist with wide experience in covering international affairs. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
