CSIS : India and China: Asian Powers Uniting

Collaboration between India and China could increase following Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's recent visit to India. Although a partnership between the two Asian powers would reshape the region, a recent CSIS essay argues that beneath the veneer of warm handshakes and smiles, plenty of tension and mutual distrust remains. One potential friction point is that both countries are modernizing their military with an eye toward increasing their influence in the Indian Ocean region and securing their energy supplies. But economic cooperation may help overcome these challenges.

Read a recent essay by Pramit Mitra (research associate at the South Asia Program) and Drew Thompsonis (assistant director at the Freeman Chair in China Studies, at the Center for Strategic and InternationalStudies in Washington, D.C.)