Following the bilateral between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at the Brics Summit this month, there is considerable speculation whether the agreement on border patrols and disengagement actually translates into a better deal on the ground and a reduction of threat in the future. A deal to end the standoff at Demchok and Depsang has only increased conjectures with justifiable concern as to whether Beijing intends to go ahead on a positive trajectory, or is simply using this as a medium-term measure to get India to lower its guard.

Such fears hinge on the huge differential between the two countries in terms of an economy of China’s $18 trillion to India’s $3.93 trillion or the size and sophistication of its armed forces. But China has its own challenges, with a strong enmity or an uneasy relationship with its foremost neighbours and the United States (US), even as it faces strong headwinds on its thrust to invigorate its economy and in several fundamental areas that define comprehensive national power (CNP). It is also not generally acknowledged that while there is a disproportion gap in some areas between the two, India has begun to catch up in several critical areas. In addition, the potential to use imaginative strategies to deal with Beijing should be explored, should it persist in its threatening position.

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