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Unpacking the India-China relationship: A dangerous stalemate
China is India’s largest neighbor and second-largest trading partner. At the same time, China is India’s primary external rival, and relations between the two countries have grown more tense amid violent clashes on the Himalayan border.
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer discusses the precarious India-China relationship with Samir Saran, President of the Observer Research Foundation, a leading Indian think tank. Saran says there is a paradox in the current status quo, where despite tension in the Himalayas, trade between the two countries is expanding in China’s favor.
“I think we have a double challenge for the Indian establishment,” Saran tells Bremmer.“How do you continue to flex your muscles to prevent expansionism of the Beijing variety, and on the other hand, how do you rebalance economic ties?”
Saran believes China isn’t willing to engage with India in the near term on either issue, leading to a “dangerous stalemate” that will define the relationship and could deteriorate very quickly. And given China’s internal economic problems, like record youth unemployment and mounting government debt, Saran doesn’t think Beijing will prioritize the relationship with India any time soon.
Watch the full interview: Can the India-Canada relationship be fixed after a suspicious murder?
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld or on US public television. Check local listings.
Is Modi's India a friend or foe to the US?
What is an ally? How is it different from a strategic partner? At what point does a shared interest between two nations bloom into a full-fledged alliance? Those questions are at the heart of the DC-Delhi relationship.
So, is India a US ally? Based on the pomp and circumstance surrounding Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington in June, the answer seems obvious, right? They love us! We love them! End of story. Right?
Ian's guest today, award-winning Indian journalist and Washington Post columnist Barkha Dutt, has some tough love to share: Sorry America, India will never be your ally. "India's hardwired from inception, as an independent country," Dutt tells Bremmer, "to be what what used to be called non-aligned, and what India's foreign minister now calls multi-lateralism ... India is asserting her moment in time."
On the other hand, both nations share a common interest in countering a rising China. So how does Dutt square that circle? Tune in to “GZERO World with Ian Bremmer” on US public television starting this Friday, July 7, to watch the full interview. Check local listings.