Head-on | How a rising India can counter China’s geopolitical challenge

China’s pre-occupation with Taiwan over the next few years along with its continuing economic slowdown presents India with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebalance the geopolitical odds in its favour Indian policymakers have several economic, geopolitical and military levers to counter the challenge China poses to India’s orderly rise as a regional power today and as a global power in the 2030s. China’s ambassador in New Delhi, Sun Weidong, exemplified this two-faced approach last week when he told journalists at a roundtable that Beijing “hoped India would reiterate its support for the One-China policy.” He added ominously that such acceptance would provide the “political basis for future relations with India.” Since 2010, India has in fact not explicitly reiterated, to Beijing’s annoyance, its acceptance of the One-China policy. Financial commentator Cai Shengkun said President Xi Jinping’s insistence on a zero-Covid approach, with mandatory quarantine, has struck a major blow.” Michael Patra, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, emphasised during a recent speech how India will over the next few years be the “second most important driver of global growth after China.” He added: “A striking feature in India is that our growth is home financed – investment is financed primarily by domestic savings, with foreign savings playing only a supplemental role.” By purchasing power parity India is already the world’s third largest economy, Patra noted. Because at the moment, the relationship is going through an extremely difficult phase because of what the Chinese have done in the last two years in our border areas.” Responding to Jaishankar, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin deployed China’s carrot-and-stick playbook: “A true Asia-Pacific century or Asian century can come only when China and India can achieve sound development.