. India-China Relations The Modern history of India-China relations starts after , with China becoming a Communist country. India was one of the first country to recognise the People’s Republic of China. However, the initial relationship did not last long as India became suspicious of China’s intention when Tibet was occupied by the Chinese army in .
The Hindi – Chini – Bhai Bhai (Indians and Chinese are brothers) ( enthusiasm in the 1950s did cast off some of India’s fears, but all these developments that happened in due course were lost with the India and China war of . India-China relations can be broadly categorised into three aspects – border issue; economic interests; and cooperation on international issues. India and China are civilizational powers with long and historical legacies. Buddhism went from India to China along with texts and culture.
Fa Hien and Xuan Zhang are some of the travellers who came to ancient India to study. Add to the cultural relations, the ancient Silk Road allowed closer economic relations. Border Issue India and China share over km long border. It is divided into three sections; the border to the east of Bhutan, central border across Utter Pradesh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the border separating Jammu and Kashmir from Chinese territories of Sinkiang and Tibet.
India – China border is known as the McMahon Line, named after Arthur Henry McMahon who was the Secretary of State for India in the British Cabinet. This demarcation was determined in at the Conference of the representatives of British Arthur Henry McMahon India, Tibet and China held at Shimla. The boundary line was drawn taking into consideration of the natural boundary as it passes through Tibetan Plateau in the north and Indian hills in the South. This boundary was accepted by all the representatives, although, China at a later date condemned it as an imperialist line.
India continues to accept this line as the border with China. Tibetan Plateau In , at the end of a protracted civil war, a communist regime was establised