China and India: Meeting halfway for shared interests

During the 18th BRICS Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Three years, three leadership meetings, and China-India relations through the lens of their shared past reflect a shared desire to meet each other halfway. Amid a complex, diverse, and turbulent global landscape, closer cooperation between the two countries is of real practical significance.

The shared pursuit of development holds the key to understanding China-India relations. As ancient civilizations, populous nations and important members of the Global South, China and India both stand at a critical stage of modernization.

For both countries, one common but urgent task is to ensure their vast populations can benefit from rapid development and that their potential can be tapped to improve lives. Meeting this task will, without any doubt, broaden and deepen their common interests.

Modernization, in turn, requires not only a peaceful and stable neighborhood but also an open and inclusive approach to cooperation. Hence, keeping development as the greatest common ground and staying devoted to economic prosperity best serves the interests of both nations. This is a pragmatic move for both China and India, and a powerful driver for bilateral relations to overcome difficulties.

Broader cooperation will underpin closer China-India relations. With vast markets, a rich talent pool, and distinctive industrial strengths, China and India are seeing their economic and social development drive a greater need for cooperation.

From closer economic and trade ties to stronger cultural and people-to-people exchanges, the scope of cooperation between the two nations is broadening as they pursue modernization. To turn that scope into reality, the two countries should act on common interests, translate the vision of cooperation into concrete action, and, through positive interaction, advance the building of a China-India community with a shared future.