China’s journey, as a new country, began with the great fall of Berlin Wall back in 1989. Although the developments in China began way back, it was with the end of the Cold War that China could establish itself as the new power on the front-line. China, since, has been a power that has continued to excel despite all odds. Whether it be the fact that it’s the only surviving communist country in the entire world or the fact that it has slowly and steadily decided to open its economy, China has been doing wonders and every country in the world seems to notice that now.
Although China began its story with a strong communist government, with time it did understand the growing capitalist and the liberal society. Hence, the economic reforms of 1992-1993, which followed large scale privatization, brought in a new China. A China which was already self-sufficient but at the same time, it opened its markets to other countries.
The opening of its market and the joining of the World Trade Organization in 2001 began a new era in the growth of this Asian giant. Currently, China is the largest trading partner of the United States of America with $659.8 billion in total (two way) goods traded during 2018. Goods exports total $120.3 billion; goods imports total $539.5 billion. This shows us how and why China is one of the most important countries in the world economy today.
If we were to analyze the question if at all China was an ally, we can come to the conclusion that yes, to a great extent it is. It is an enormous ally for a lot of countries. Countries who are getting help and support under the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) Initiative under China would agree to this. This initiative is a global development strategy adopted by the Chinese government involving infrastructure development and investments in 152 countries and international organizations in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. Thus, China is the greatest ally for all these countries spread across the world. This initiative covers developing, as well as underdeveloped countries, thus giving them a new pathway to development and thus becoming the best big brother.
On looking at India and China relations, we can understand how both these countries have always shared a cultural and economic base for relations. For India in the 21st century, China acts more like an ally than anything else. China is India’s largest trading partner. Chinese imports from India amounted to $16.4 billion or 0.8% of its overall imports, and 4.2% of India’s overall exports in 2014. The fact that both these countries are the two big Asian giants, it is imperative for both of them to be allies so as to support each other and continue their bid for the strongest power.
However, it should also be noted with care that China continues to have border skirmishes and unbalanced trade negotiations with India. We have had four military conflicts with China- In 1962, 1967, 1987, and the most recent Doklam incident of 2017. Despite having a very swift and ongoing trade relation with China, there are a lot of things that need to be solved and taken care of, before we move on being best buddies. China has been seen with a lot of speculation not just in India, but outside as well and on various fronts. Many countries still question and find OBOR objectionable. Some believe that Chinese trading is unfair.
We all acknowledge its power as one of the P-5 powerful nations, but at the same we still question a lot of things that China does, making it a sort of an adversary. But then again, to call China an adversary would be too strong an opinion, provided the fact that we know the cordial relation China shares with almost every other country in this world.
In June 2012, China stated its position that “Sino-Indian ties” could be the most “important bilateral partnership of the century.” Despite this statement, we have still witnessed tribulations in India- China relations. Thus, it puts us in a position where we believe that China is something less than an adversary and more than an ally for almost many growing countries of this world. China truly, happens to represent the new power realm of the 21st century.