China & India – Important Engines for Global Growth

Last Updated on July 15, 2018 by Bharat Saini

Sharper Strategic Communication in Era of Protectionism will be pursued by India and China, as agreed by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and President of People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, during their Informal Summit in Wuhan on April 27-28, 2018, to exchange views on overarching issues of bilateral and global importance, and to elaborate their respective visions and priorities for national development in the context of the current and future international situation. They decided to reboot efforts to resolve their border row so that they can focus on Asia’s rise in a post-western world.

President Xi welcoming Modi said, “China and India are both important engines for global growth and we are central pillars for promoting a multi-polar and globalised world. A good China-India relation is an important and positive factor for maintaining peace and stability in the world”.

Prime Minister Modi in presence of Xi observed, “The two countries together constituted about 50% of the world economy and another 50% was shared by the rest of the world for 1,600 years”.

Prime Minister Modi and President Xi believe that the simultaneous emergence of India and China as two large economies and major powers with strategic and decisional autonomy has implications of regional and global significance. The two leaders:

• Reviewed developments in India-China relations from the strategic and long-term perspective.
• Shared the view that peaceful, stable and balanced relations between India and China will be a positive factor for stability amidst current global uncertainties.
• Agreed that proper management of the bilateral relationship will be conducive for the development and prosperity of the region, and will create the conditions for the Asian Century.
• Decided to strengthen the Closer Development Partnership in a mutually beneficial and sustainable manner, in pursuit of national modernisation and greater prosperity for their peoples.
• Agreed to significantly enhance efforts to build on the convergences through established mechanisms in order to create the broadest possible platform for their future relationship.
• Agreed that both sides have maturity and wisdom to handle the differences through peaceful discussion within the context of overall relationship, bearing in mind the importance of respecting each other’s sensitivities, concerns and aspirations.
• Expressed their support for the work of Special Representatives on India China Boundary Question and urged them to intensify their efforts to seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement.
• Underscored the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in all areas of the India-China border region in the larger interest of the overall development of bilateral relations.
• Issued strategic guidance to their respective militaries to strengthen communication in order to build trust and mutual understanding and enhance predictability and effectiveness in the management of border affairs.
• Directed their militaries to earnestly implement various confidence building measures agreed upon between the two sides, including the principle of mutual and equal security, and strengthen existing institutional arrangements and information sharing mechanisms to prevent incidents in border regions.
• Agreed to push forward bilateral trade and investment in a balanced and sustainable manner by taking advantage of complementarities between their two economies.
• Discussed ways to promote greater cultural and people-to-people exchanges and agreed to explore establishing new mechanisms in this direction.
• Agreed on their need to strengthen strategic communication through greater
• Agreed that India and China have separately made major contributions to global peace and prosperity through their respective growth and economic development, and would continue to act as engines for global growth in the future.
• Reiterated the importance of building an open, multipolar, pluralist and participatory global economic order which will enable all countries to pursue their development and contribute to elimination of poverty and inequality in all regions of the world.
• Spoke of their respective efforts to contribute to the regional and global economic development.
• Shared views on their respective foreign policy visions of achieving global prosperity and security.
• Agreed to jointly contribute in a positive and constructive way in facilitating sustainable solutions for global challenges including climate change, sustainable development, food security etc.
• Underscored the importance of reform of multilateral financial and political institutions to make them representative and responsive to the needs of developing countries.

Prime Minister Modi and President Xi agreed that as two major emerging economies, India and China, given their vast developmental experiences and national capacities, should join hands to take lead in offering innovative and sustainable solutions to the challenges faced by humankind in the 21st century. These include combating diseases, coordinating action for disaster risk reduction and mitigation, addressing climate change and ushering digital empowerment. They agreed to pool together their expertise and resources in these areas and create a global network dedicated to these challenges for the larger benefit of humanity.

Prime Minister Modi and President Xi recognized the common threat posed by terrorism, and reiterated their strong condemnation of and resolute opposition to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They committed themselves to cooperate on counter-terrorism.

The two leaders highly assessed the opportunity for direct, free and candid exchange of views offered by the Informal Summit and agreed on the utility of holding more such dialogues in the future. The forward-looking dialogue raised the level of strategic communication about the perspective, priorities and vision that guide their respective policy choices domestically, regionally and globally. It also helped them in forging a common understanding of the future direction of India-China relations built upon mutual respect for each other’s developmental aspirations and prudent management of differences with mutual sensitivity.