Arriving at, maintaining equilibrium with China to be one of India’s biggest challenges: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, on Friday, spoke about how arriving at and maintaining an equilibrium is going to be one of the biggest challenges for India-China ties. The immediate issue, he asserted, was Beijing’s departure from the norms, triggering a border row in eastern Ladakh. 

Jaishankar also cautioned against China’s “mind games” in an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue. He said that India must not forego its rights. His remarks came when asked whether there would be a settling point between China and India. 

"Here is the immediate issue which is: From the late 1980s, we had an understanding on the border precisely because it suited both of us. Now there was a departure after almost 30 years. A departure on their side in terms of how they behaved on the border. And there was a pushback from our side…I think arriving at an equilibrium, then maintaining those and refreshing those is going to be one of the biggest challenges for both countries. It is not going to be easy," he noted.

"The other 190 odd countries do not exist in our relationship. That will be the mind game which will be played. I do not think we should play it. Because if there are other factors out there in the world which can be harnessed by me to get better terms on an equilibrium, then why should I forgo that right," he said.

The minister also spoke about how the Chinese economy would flatten out while the Indian economy would grow in the foreseeable future. He referred to projections by Goldman Sachs that suggested that by 2075 both the countries would end up as $50 trillion plus economies.

Acknowledging that China started off earlier and robustly than India, Jaishankar said, “But it is in the nature of things that at some stage everybody flattens out. So there will be a period when they will be flattening out and we will be growing," he said.

"I am not in denial of what the numbers today suggest. But if one looks for an example in Goldman Sachs predictions which is that we will both really by around 2075 end up as USD 50 trillion plus economies and will be the two closest to each other," he said.

(With PTI inputs)