What India can learn from China’s foreign Policy

Source: Indian Express

Gs2: India and its Neighborhood- Relations.

Relevance: China always aligns its national ambitions with its foreign policy for better results. So, aligning India’s national ambition will improve India’s foreign relations

Synopsis: China’s foreign policy was always directed towards its national ambitions

Background

• The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will be celebrating its 100th anniversary this week.
• The CCP has been commendable in making China the world’s second-largest economy, and a technological powerhouse.
• Though India had much in common with China a hundred years ago, it is not the same now.
• China’s GDP is five times larger than that of India, and Beijing spends three times more than Delhi on defense.
• In this regard, India can learn from China on building flexible global coalitions, adapting quickly to changing internal needs and external circumstances.

China’s foreign policy was always in line with its national ambitions

1^st phase: China was against Japanese occupation more than Imperialism

• China’s world view was different from India’s. India wanted to build a “spiritual Asia”, different from the “material West”. Whereas the young communists demanded rapid modernisation.
• Also, a divergence of opinion emerged between India and China towards defeating Imperialism.
• The two sides issued a joint declaration underlining their shared interest in defeating imperialism and jointly building post-colonial order in Asia and the world.
• However, during the second world war, the two national movements could not find common ground. For China, fighting Japanese occupation was the priority and for India, it was about ousting British colonialism from India.

2^nd Phase:  China departed from Russia to pursue its national ambitions

• India wanted to befriend China and oppose US efforts to isolate Beijing. But the bilateral disputes over territory and Tibet drove them to war.
• On the geopolitical front, communist China moved away from communist Russia and moved closer to the US. To restore regional balance, India moved closer to Russia.

3^rd phase: China focused on rebuilding the Chinese economy by committing to peace

• Instead of pursuing revolutionary goals abroad, Deng Xiaoping pursued peace to facilitate domestic development.
• This had helped in establishing peace on the Sino-Indian border, normalising political relations, and expanding economic cooperation.
• But the situation began to change in the late 2000s, especially after the 2008 financial crisis. Also, China’s increasing economic power got steadily translated into military power and diplomatic influence was steadily rising.

4^th Phase: China is determined to rewrite the regional order under Xi Jinping

• The fourth phase in Chinese international policies, marked by assertiveness on territorial disputes with neighbours.
• China under Xi Jinping is ready to offer an alternative to the US-led global order. It wants to deliver a superior form of capitalism, better ways of domestic political governance, and a new model of international relations centred around Chinese power.
• Currently, India finds itself squeezed by Chinese power on multiple fronts i.e., Territorial, maritime, and from regional to international institutions.
• The Chinese face-off at eastern Ladakh reflects the more difficult phase in India-China relations.

What India can learn?

China did not let its internationalism come in the way of its national ambition. For example,

• Mao broke from the Russian-led Comintern to initiate the Chinese revolution.
• Similarly, Deng broke from the communist ideology to accelerate Chinese economic transformation in partnership with the US and the West.

For any nation, large or small, internationalism can’t be an end in itself. It is a critical instrument in strengthening national unity, security, and prosperity.