Abstract
One of the most important developments that have occurred in the twenty-first century is the rise of China as a major Asian economic giant. This becomes evident from the fact that today China is not only the second largest economy in the world, but its economic clout can also be felt across all the regions of the world. More importantly, China has today become the largest creditor of the United States. With increase of its economic capacity, China has aggressively started its military modernisation programme and it has also focused on improving relations with developing countries, strengthening friendship relations with neighbouring countries and Third World countries and promoting its role in the United Nations to assert its position globally and regionally. Undoubtedly, this has helped China to create a special place for itself in the international political order, generating a debate about the future shape of the world order with China as a ‘great power’. Though China has already projected its rise as ‘peaceful rise’ giving an impression that its rise should not be seen as a threat to any country and that it is a responsible and cooperative member of the international community, yet skeptics believe that the rise of China must be seen in the historical context of the rise and fall of the great powers. And thus, they argue that China would try to establish its hegemony in the world, once it reached the status of a ‘great power’.
India, which is not only a close neighbour of China, but also having a long-standing border dispute with it, is also very closely watching its rise. Though Sino-India relations have improved significantly over last few years and China has become the largest trading partner of India, yet there are growing concerns within India that increasing clout of China both at the regional and international level can create problems for India. This concern looms large considering the fact in the recent past China has tried to assert its position against India on many occasions.
It is in this context that the book under review assumes a great significance. The book is divided into three sections containing 10 chapters. The first chapter is introductory in nature. The editor, Harsh V. Pant, discusses the level of analysis approach of international relations. In this contest, he mentions three variables, namely, the international system level, the state level and the individual level, under the broad framework of which the authors have written their chapters.
The next three chapters discuss role of the economic, domestic and military factors in the rise of China. Bibek Debroy, in his chapter, examines the economic growth trajectory of China and its implication for Sino-India economic ties. He argues that while India and China would continue to witness rise in their economic capacity, there is a huge gulf between India and China. This in turn also reflects in their bilateral relations. For instance, while trade between the two has increased over the years, it continues to be one-sided in favour of China, which is a major cause of concern for India. Varaprasad S. Dolla in his chapter tries to understand role of domestic factors in China’s emergence as a ‘great power’. In doing so, the author sheds lights on factors like ideology, the state, the party, People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Chinese government.
Srikanth Kondapalli discusses China’s military modernisation programme for the last few years. He mentions the several priority areas of PLA’s modernisation drive, which include change in military personnel profile, enhancing professionalism, demobilisation, raising elite and rapid response forces, infusing high-tech weaponry and others. The fifth chapter examines role of China in the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean region. Ashok Kapur argues that while Chinese aggression cannot be ruled out in the region, China currently employs a two-track approach to Asia-Pacific affairs.
The sixth chapter analyses US-China relations against the background of assertiveness of Beijing in recent times and the implication of US-China for India. Arthur Waldron argues that while China wants to change the structure of the international order by carving out a special place for itself, the US, on the other hand, tries to maintain its sole superpower status with some adjustment with China. In this context, Arthur Waldron says that the US considers China an ‘ideal partner’. Of course, any attempt by the US to impress upon will have natural implications for India. It will not only affect US-India relations adversely, but China will also take an assertive posture against India.
D.S. Rajan, in his chapter, provides in-depth analysis of China’s resources diplomacy. In this regard, Rajan argues that China requires more energy to sustain its rising economic growth. To deal this problem, China has focused on developing close linkages with countries in Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and others to get access to energy resources in these counties. At the same time, the author believes that China’s move will change the prevailing energy scenario at the global level, leading to pose challenges to countries like India which are also looking for viable energy resources for maintaining its economic growth.
The eighth chapter examines the long-standing territorial disputes between India and China. David Scott discuses the claims of both the countries on disputed territories like Aksai Chin in the western sector and Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern sector, and critically analyses the efforts taken for resolving the dispute. The ninth chapter is devoted towards evaluating the role of the Tibet factor in India–China ties. Elliot Sperling discusses the historical background of the Tibet factor in relations between New Delhi and Beijing. He also focuses on relevance of the issue for both the countries in the present context and finds that the Tibet factor will continue to impact negatively India’s ties with China.
Finally, the editor, Harsh V. Pant, in his concluding chapter gives a detailed account of China’s increasing involvement in South Asia and its implications for India. Pant provides a detailed account of China’s growing involvement with Pakistan, Sri Lank, Bangladesh and Nepal and he assets in his conclusion that China’s policy towards South Asia is based on encircling India. This in turn surely poses huge challenges for India’s national interests.
However, the book has some lacunas. For instance, there should have been a chapter on China–Japan relations and its implications for India–Japan relations. The book also does not discuss China’s role in international institutions. Similarly, today when the issue of climate change has emerged as one of the major security concerns, the editor should have included a chapter on how both India and China are dealing with the issue. Notwithstanding these limitations, the book under review provides a detailed analysis of China’s rise and its possible implication for India. And indeed, it is a valuable addition to the available literature on the subject.