India- China Relationship

 

The committee specifically emphasized that the government should make a deep assessment of the relationship between India and China so as to form a national consensus on how China should be treated.

The major observations and recommendations made by the committee are as follows:

One Belt One Road Initiative: One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative is a China infrastructure project, which includes the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor- CPEC. The committee noted in its report that CPEC is not acceptable to India as it passes through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), which is a violation of India's territorial integrity. The committee has praised India's attitude of strongly rejecting the OBOR initiative proposed by China. It recommended that India should promote its own connectivity projects under various initiatives in response to the OBOR initiative.

Apart from this, the committee has also suggested that India aided the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (BRICS Development Bank) and the BRICS Development Bank to finance infrastructure projects in its neighborhood and improve connectivity.

Doklam case: The committee has said in its report that China's encroachment in Doklam (Bhutan) is a violation of two agreements between China and Bhutan. It was decided through these agreements that as long as border negotiations are in progress there will be no change in the situation of the two countries. Apart from this, it is also a violation of the agreement of 2012 under which it is necessary to consult a third country to determine the boundary point between India, China and any third country. The committee appreciated the overall management of the problem as it indicated that India would not accept any of the efforts to force India to change the situation on any of its borders. Despite this, the committee has expressed concern that the development of China's infrastructure near the tri-junction has not yet been stopped. Defense Cooperation: The committee noted that defense cooperation between India and China has increased significantly, but in 2017 this type of cooperation between the two countries was banned. There were several reasons for the ban, including the Doklam dispute and differences over the One Belt One Road initiative. According to the committee, the resumption of defense cooperation between the two countries will be in the long-term interest of India-China relations.  It has therefore recommended that the government may send a proposal to resume defense cooperation with China. India-China Trade Issues: According to the report of the committee, bilateral trade between India and China is expected to be more than $ 80 billion in the year 2017.

However, India's concerns include non-tariff barriers imposed by China, dumping of goods and lack of investment by China.  According to the recommendations of the committee, the government should attract Chinese companies to invest more in India.