Chinas twin avatars, as neighbour and potential superpower, altering the complexion of Indo-China ties: Tirumurti

While Indo-China relations as neighbours, after 1962, had entered a ‘regular’ that held up until lately, China’s rise as a possible superpower was altering the complexion of bilateral ties, former Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, T.S. Tirumurti, mentioned in Chennai on Monday (September 15, 2025).

At the launch of the e book “China: Indian Perspectives on China’s Politics, Economy, and Foreign Relations” introduced out by The Hindu Publishing Group, Mr. Tirumurti mentioned China’s rise as a possible superpower meant that for the primary time, India was sharing a border with a superpower, which modified the complexion of their relationship. “The previous template just isn’t sufficient, and we have to develop a brand new one to cope with China in each these avatars,” he added.

“India must put in place a much more nuanced set of insurance policies slightly than simply merely predicating our relationships on the progress on the border concern as a barometer of excellent relations,” Mr. Tirumurti noticed. There was additionally a necessity to take a look at some arduous points like commerce imbalance, entry to Indian items and companies, and de-escalation, earlier than a brand new regular is reached.

Curated by Ananth Krishnan, Director, The Hindu Publishing Group, the e book has 12 in-depth essays from former diplomats, enterprise representatives, and students, overlaying subjects such because the political developments in China, its tech panorama, financial system and commerce, evolution of Indo-China relations, and China’s navy modernisation. Mr. Ananth Krishnan mentioned the e book provided a well timed snapshot of the goings-on in China because it handled a number of developments – going up the tech worth chain quickly however dealing with monumental financial issues, coping with geopolitical challenges with tensions with the U.S. and a few neighbours, whereas having success in spreading its affect in Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

N. Ram, Director, The Hindu Publishing Group, mentioned an actual breakthrough in India-China relations post-1962 occurred when then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited China in 1988, setting the trail for bilateral commerce which elevated from 600 million USD within the early Nineties to 140 billion USD now. The boundary row, he mentioned, was an intractable concern that will take lengthy to resolve in view of home constraints in policymaking on either side.

Nirmala Lakshman, Chairperson, The Hindu Publishing Group, mentioned the e book turns into vital particularly in view of the altering order of the world that has supplied a possibility to take a look at China in a brand new paradigm.

B. Santhanam, Independent Director, The Hindu Publishing Group, mentioned entrepreneurs in China had deep, hands-on technical experience of their domains and all the time targeted on full stack improvement. As India makes an attempt to go up the worth chain of semiconductors, solar energy, vitality, or mobility, an entrepreneurial perspective, he felt, was extra vital than a State’s policy-driven objecting dominating the thought course of.

Suresh Nambath, Editor, The Hindu, Narayan Lakshman, Opinion Page Editor, The Hindu, and Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu, spoke.