The China-India Rivalry in the Globalization Era

As the aspirations of the two rising Asian powers collide, the China-India rivalry is likely to shape twenty-first-century international politics in the region and far beyond.

This volume by T.V. Paul and an international group of leading scholars examines whether the rivalry between the two countries that began in the 1950s will intensify or dissipate in the twenty-first century. The China-India relationship is important to analyze because past experience has shown that when two rising great powers share a border, the relationship is volatile and potentially dangerous. India and China’s relationship faces a number of challenges, including multiple border disputes that periodically flare up, division over the status of Tibet and the Dalai Lama, the strategic challenge to India posed by China's close relationship with Pakistan, the Chinese navy's greater presence in the Indian Ocean, and the two states’ competition for natural resources. Despite these irritants, however, both countries agree on issues such as global financial reforms and climate change and have much to gain from increasing trade and investment, so there are reasons for optimism as well as pessimism.

The contributors to this volume answer the following questions: What explains the peculiar contours of this rivalry? What influence does accelerated globalization, especially increased trade and investment, have on this rivalry? What impact do US-China competition and China’s expanding navy have on this rivalry? Under what conditions will it escalate or end? The China-India Rivalry in the Globalization Era will be of great interest to students, scholars, and policymakers concerned with Indian and Chinese foreign policy and Asian security.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Part I: Introduction

1. Explaining Conflict and Cooperation in the China-India Rivalry
T.V. Paul

Part II: Sources

2. Territory and the China-India Competition
Mahesh Shankar

3. Asymmetrical Competitors: Status Concerns and the China-India Rivalry
Xiaoyu Pu

4. China, India, and Their Differing Conceptions of International Order
Manjari Chatterjee Miller

5. Balancing Strategies and the China-India Rivalry
Zhen Han and Jean-François Bélanger

6. China and India’s Quest for Resources and Its Impact on the Rivalry
Calvin Chen

7. Power Asymmetry and the China-India Water Dispute
Selina Ho

Part III: Strategies

8. Himalayan Standoff: Strategic Culture and the China-India Rivalry
Andrew Scobell

9. Nuclear Deterrence in the China-India Dyad
Vipin Narang

Part IV: Mitigators

10. Globalization’s Impact: Trade and Investment in China-India Relations
Matthew A. Castle

11. China-India Engagement in Institutions: Convergence and Divergence on Global Governance Reforms
Feng Liu

Part V: Conclusions

12. Whither Rivalry or Withered Rivalry?
Paul F. Diehl

List of Contributors
Index

Reviews

"An important addition to the literature . . . students of the India-China dynamic should use it as a platform to further comparative studies of what is without doubt one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world."—H-Diplo

"The rivalry between China and India has entered a new phase with the two Asian powers struggling to manage their relationship. From South Asia and the Indian Ocean region to the far reaches of the Pacific, the Sino-Indian rivalry is getting manifested in myriad ways in the wider context of economic globalisation. This remarkable collection of essays, superbly edited by Prof T.V. Paul, manages to explore the contestations and contradictions in Sino-Indian ties by bringing impressive analytical heft to the discourse on major power rivalry."—Harsh Pant, professor, King's College London

"Despite being one of the few indigenous great power rivalries in Asia, the competition between China and India has never received the attention it deserves. T. V. Paul's The China-India Rivalry in the Globalization Era corrects this lacuna in ways that advance both scholarship and policy making. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the complex interactions between these rising giants today."—Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

"As China-India relations impact global politics and attract global attention, this collection of articles put together by T. V. Paul, Professor of International Relations at McGill University,is extremely timely. The book comprehensively examines the historical and evolving SinoIndia security dynamics, which include traditional as well as non-traditional security issues"—The International Spectator

"This is a useful book whose major strength is the diversity of well-researched perspectives it brings to the study of India–China rivalry."—China Report

"In sum, this is a stimulating volume that provides key insights into a vital relationship in contemporary international politics."—International Affairs

"Overall this book makes a valuable contribution to the growing literature on China-India rivalry and it should be on the reading list of every scholar and policymaker."—Journal of Chinese Political Science

"Paul’s edited volume is indeed an incisive and solid overview of the emerging India–China relationship."—South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies

""[T]his is a useful book whose major strength is the diversity of well-researched perspectives it brings to the study of India–China rivalry."—China Report

Contributors

Jean-François BélangerMatthew A. CastleCalvin ChenPaul F. DiehlZhen HanSelina HoFeng LiuManjari MillerVipin NarangT.V. PaulXiaoyu PuAndrew ScobellMahesh Shankar

Supplemental Materials

Awards

About the Author

T.V. Paul is James McGill Professor of International Relations at McGill University, past president of the International Studies Association, and author or editor of eighteen books, including The Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary World and The Accommodation of Rising Powers: Past, Present, and Future.