India's Growing Antagonism Towards China as Viewed by SIIS Analyst Liu Zongyi

"For the next 10 years at least, India will continue to pursue pro-US policies and will continue to adopt a primarily confrontational approach towards China, with cooperation as a secondary priority."

Dear Everyone,

Today’s edition of Sinification takes a look at Sino-Indian relations from the perspective of one of China’s better-known India specialists – Liu Zongyi (刘宗义). Liu is a researcher at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) – one of China’s top think tanks.

The excerpts provided below come from two different sources: the first, an edited transcript of a speech made by Liu during an event organised by Renmin University’s Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies on 3 January; the second, an interview with Liu conducted by Guancha.cn following China’s most recent border clash with India last month.

Liu’s main arguments:

• India-China ties will be defined by confrontation and competition in the short, medium and possibly long term.

• New Delhi’s relations with Beijing are currently influenced by two main factors: the United States and Hindu nationalism.

• India is in a battle with China for regional and global influence.

• India is out to replace China as the “world’s …