Introduction

This book is about the possibility of cooperation between China and India in economics, environment, energy, and water. The two giants of Asia are usually thought of as geopolitical rivals and as doomed to conflict even though they have not fought a war since 1962. ¹ The long, if uneasy, peace between them indicates that they can cooperate in security matters, at least to the extent of avoiding hostilities. As the two grow their economies, however, the potential for conflict is moving beyond the geopolitical sphere. Even though there is a huge convergence of interests between the two countries in their efforts to modernise, the pattern of modernisation itself might lead them into new arenas of contention. This volume considers the prospects for conflict and cooperation in four areas – economics, environment, energy, and water. While the two countries have worked hard on security cooperation, they have done less to manage tensions in these other areas and to exploit the opportunities for common benefit.