China’s twin avatars, as neighbour and potential superpower, changing the complexion of Indo-China ties: Tirumurti

While Indo-China relations as neighbours, after 1962, had entered a ‘normal’ that held up till recently, China’s rise as a potential superpower was changing the complexion of bilateral ties, former Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, T.S. Tirumurti, said in Chennai on Monday (September 15, 2025).

At the launch of the book “China: Indian Perspectives on China’s Politics, Economy, and Foreign Relations” brought out by The Hindu Publishing Group, Mr. Tirumurti said China’s rise as a potential superpower meant that for the first time, India was sharing a border with a superpower, which changed the complexion of their relationship. “The old template is not enough, and we need to develop a new one to deal with China in both these avatars,” he added.

“India needs to put in place a far more nuanced set of policies rather than just merely predicating our relations on the progress on the border issue as a barometer of good relations,” Mr. Tirumurti observed. There was also a need to look at some hard issues like trade imbalance, access to Indian goods and services, and de-escalation, before a new normal is reached.

Curated by Ananth Krishnan, Director, The Hindu Publishing Group, the book has 12 in-depth essays from former diplomats, business representatives, and scholars, covering topics such as the political trends in China, its tech landscape, economy and trade, evolution of Indo-China relations, and China’s military modernisation. Mr. Ananth Krishnan said the book offered a timely snapshot of the goings-on in China as it dealt with multiple trends – going up the tech value chain rapidly but facing enormous economic problems, dealing with geopolitical challenges with tensions with the U.S. and some neighbours, while having success in spreading its influence in Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

N. Ram, Director, The Hindu Publishing Group, said a real breakthrough in India-China relations post-1962 occurred when then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited China in 1988, setting the path for bilateral trade which increased from 600 million USD in the early 1990s to 140 billion USD now. The boundary row, he said, was an intractable issue that would take long to resolve in view of domestic constraints in policymaking on both sides.

Nirmala Lakshman, Chairperson, The Hindu Publishing Group, said the book becomes important especially in view of the changing order of the world that has provided an opportunity to look at China in a new paradigm.

B. Santhanam, Independent Director, The Hindu Publishing Group, said entrepreneurs in China had deep, hands-on technical expertise in their domains and always focused on full stack development. As India attempts to go up the value chain of semiconductors, solar power, energy, or mobility, an entrepreneurial perspective, he felt, was more important than a State’s policy-driven objecting dominating the thought process.

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