'Complex Equilibrium Between Two Rising Powers': What Jaishankar Said On India-China Ties
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As India tries to strike the right balance between taking advantage and keeping an eye on it, China is looking for opportunities in the current geopolitical dislocation
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said India and China are both rising powers that are creating a new equilibrium between them and the world.
As India tries to strike the right balance between taking advantage as well as keeping an eye on China, the neighbouring country is looking to find opportunities in the current geopolitical dislocation.
'… The Chinese began their modernisation earlier than us, largely because our governments at the time did not do what they should have done… India and China are both rising powers that are creating a new equilibrium…" Jaishankar said while speaking at the German Marshall Fund (GMF) Brussels Forum 2025.
VIDEO | Belgium: Here's what External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) said while speaking at the German Marshall Fund (GMF) Brussels Forum 2025.'… The Chinese began their modernisation earlier than us, largely because our governments at the time did not do what… pic.twitter.com/h93GIPSdxt — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 11, 2025
Jaishankar was asked how India ensures it is taking advantage but also keeping an eye on China, and how Beijing's actions play into New Delhi's.
'…China is an immediate neighbour. It's a neighbour with whom we've had unsettled boundaries. So that's a big factor in our relations. We have a situation where China and India stand out because they're the only two countries with over a billion people but also because they are two civilisational states in a way," he said.
'You have the rise of China, you have the rise of India. Now, each one is creating a certain new equilibrium between them and the world. And then much more complex equilibrium between the two rising powers, who also happen to be neighbours that sometimes have common neighbours as well. So, it is an incredibly complicated matrix and there are different dimensions to it," he said. 'There is the boundary dimension to it, there's the balances if you would, there are economic issues, trade issues, there are concerns – we have different economic social values, political models."
The Union minister said the relationship between the two neighbours is 'far more textured and complicated than it would appear" on the surface.
On whether the Europeans are realistic about China or naive in certain areas, he pointed toward an evolution in Europe's position and stance.
'But I would also make the point that not all of Europe is obviously moving at the same speed and wavelength, so there are some who have different views, some who are more hard-headed. I would make that distinction vis-a-vis China," he added.
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June 11, 2025, 22:58 IST
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