India should recalibrate China policy, take more economic measures

K V Prasad

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 8

Advocating it is time for India to recalibrate its policy towards China, strategic and policy experts on Wednesday suggested New Delhi initiates more measures to decouple economically while seeking to work out with other countries in collectively responding on the economic front.

Interpreting the current development as being qualitatively different, former India’s Ambassador to China Gautam Bambawale said on the tactical front China is sending a signal it would unilaterally show what Beijing considers the Line of Actual Control and on the strategic front, India should understand where it stands in Asia and the World.

“We have to take many more policy measures to show our displeasure with China. Policy of engagement has run out of steam in May 2020. India has to undertake a fundamental assessment and recalibrate its China policy…,”Ambassador Bambawale said taking part in a webinar “India-China relations – at an inflection point?” organised by the Institute of Chinese Studies.

While stating the economic measures would have to go beyond banning 59 Chinese Apps like not allowing Chinese telecom companies to take part in the 5G trials, he said the economic decoupling steps would cause pain but a strong message “it cannot be business as usual” needs to be sent.

On his part, JNU Professor of International Politics Rajesh Rajagopalan felt since except the US, difference in power between China and other countries in the Indo-Pacific region is big. Countries facing the brunt of Chinese policies may have to work out a mechanism at least on economic front to balance it out. One or a set of countries may not be able to face the backlash from China, which could be resisted through combined efforts.

In his assessment, at present India does not possess internal capacity to match the difference in power with China. Instead of accepting Beijing’s hegemony India can balance it out through other countries. More than military response, he said, countries could work to balance on political front by coordinating action in multilateral organisations or what Beijing is doing through Belt and Road Initiative.

Senior analyst and China watcher Tom Miller said the choice before India is to either pursue “strategic autonomy” or join a league of nations emerging against China. In his opinion, given the extent of Indian dependence on China for intermediate products and extent of investments economic decoupling would not be feasible. In his view, India would have to work putting its national interest over its economic interest considering that despite efforts for over a decade the balance of bilateral trade continues to grow in favour of China.