CHINESE AND INDIAN POSITIONS ON INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
The rise of China and India as major world powers promises to test the established globalorder in the coming decades. As the two powers grow, they are bound to change the currentinternational system—with profound implications for themselves, the United States, andthe world. And whether they agree on the changes to be made, especially when it comes totheir relationship with the West, will influence the system’s future character. A close examination of Chinese and Indian perspectives on the fundamentals of the emerging international order reveals that Sino-Indian differences on many issues of both bilateral and globalsignificance are stark. KEY POINTS• China and India’s sustained economic growth fuels their increasing geopolitical andmilitary influence.• Despite their developmental similarities, China and India’s bilateral strategic rivalrymeans that they have competing priorities on most major global issues.• Sino-Indian differences are considerable on issues relating to the nonproliferation system, Asian security, regional stability in Southern Asia, and security in the maritimecommons, space, and cyberspace. The two rising powers broadly agree on mattersrelating to the international economic system, energy security, and the environment.• Because of its ongoing shift to the Asia-Pacific and status as the only global superpower, the United States must manage a complex set of relationships with China andIndia, which are at times working at cross-purposes.CHINESE AND INDIAN POSITIONS ON INTERNATIONAL ISSUESGLOBAL ORDER: China and India tend to agree on the importance of state sovereignty and theneed to reform global governance institutions to reflect the new balance of power. They alsoshare a strong commitment to the open economic order that has allowed both powers toflourish in the global marketplace. But the two diverge on many details of the internationalsystem, such as the future viability of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the role of stateowned enterprises in fostering globalization.REGIONAL SECURITY: Both China and India want a stable Asia-Pacific that will allow them tosustain their economic prosperity, but they perceive threats very differently and have divergent priorities. Importantly, India seeks a resolute American presence in the region to hedgeagainst possible Chinese excesses, while China sees the United States as significantly complicating its pursuit of its regional goals and worries about American containment attempts.SECURITY IN THE GLOBAL COMMONS: Beijing and New Delhi rely heavily on open sea lines ofcommunication, and as a result, they both support the current maritime security regime.However, their interpretations as to its provisions have occasionally diverged. In space,China enjoys significant advantages over India and has emphasized the military dimensionsof its program, while New Delhi has only recently begun developing space-based militarytechnology. Both countries are just beginning to wrestle with the difficult task of formingcybersecurity policies, but they have already acted to limit objectionable or illegal activitiesonline. In striking the balance between online freedom and social stability, India has encountered a higher degree of opprobrium in the public sphere than its counterpart.NONTRADITIONAL SECURITY: Chinese and Indian approaches to both energy and the environment broadly converge. Because India and China face a rising domestic demand for energy,they heavily rely on foreign suppliers of energy resources. This has prompted both governments to seek more efficient power sources and to secure their presence in overseas energymarkets. On environmental policy, the two countries focus on primarily local and shortterm concerns that must be balanced with the need for economic growth. For more info check the link below:http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/crux_of_asia.pdf
