Opinion | The Great Asian Reconciliation: Can India-China Find Common Ground?
NDTV
London is known for its open intellectual climate, where no idea is off-limits. But even in this dynamic city - and indeed in Washington too - it's almost blasphemous to suggest that Russia and the West can be partners, or that the US and China can coexist as global powers. Recently, Nigel Farage, the Reform Party leader in the UK, faced a storm for urging the West to negotiate sensibly with Russia over Ukraine, calling the war a 'complete stalemate'. People accused him of "echoing Russian propaganda".
In India, we often hear that we don't cultivate a society where all ideas are welcome. But let's hope that suggesting a new chapter of "Hindi-Cheeni bhai-bhai" (India-China brotherhood) isn't seen as blasphemy. The strong anti-China sentiment after the Galwan Valley clash in 2020 seems to have subsided. We're buying more Chinese goods now than ever. In 2023, our bilateral trade hit over $136 billion. Hopefully, even those who burnt Chinese products in Gujarat and Delhi following the border skirmishes are more open to the idea now.
Sure, it might sound crazy to suggest that India and China should become trusted partners like the US and India, or Russia and China. But, it's not entirely out of the question.
