ABSTRACT
This chapter considers broad economic trends that have underpinned the dramatic changes in India and China positions in the international system. It considers the border dispute, the central – though not the only – aspect of Sino-Indian competition and a resurgent source of tension over the past decade. The chapter examines competition more broadly, including the competition for diplomatic influence across South Asia, with the important military context to these dynamics. It also considers the major role played by the US, which has seen its relationship with New Delhi improve dramatically over the same period as tensions with Beijing have grown, trends that are likely to continue and which make the development of a post-American multipolar world less likely. The chapter then considers how India and China relate to one another on what might be termed 'structural' issues, relating to broader, non-security regional or global issues, such as international financial institutions, international trade regimes or climate change frameworks.
