Agreed during the recent Beijing Summit, idea of Strategic Stability as per USA is based on fairness and reciprocity, while for China, it carries an additional tone of keeping competition within proper limits, and respecting China’s core interests.
Other key Highlights of the Summit
- Establishing U.S.-China Boards Of Trade And Investment: To manage bilateral trade and investment.
- Taiwan question: While China mentions Taiwan as most important issue in U.S.-China relations, USA completed omitted its mention from its Fact Sheet.
- Global Security: Both sides reached a consensus on unblocking of Strait of Hormuz.
- Framework for Bargaining, Not Clear Settlement: While for USA the summit produced key results on aircraft sales, agricultural purchases, restored market access, etc., China described these outcomes to be pending finalization.
Key Irritants in USA-China Relations
- Zero-Sum Game Belief: Generally argued that China’s gain corresponds to America’s loss.
- China’s One Belt Road Initiative, Creation of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), etc., is viewed as counter to USA hegemony.
- Ideological Differences: China’s authoritarianism and communist state further forces containment in their approach.
- Russian Axis: Russia's growing closeness with China (post Ukraine invasion) and its policy of strategic pivot eastward, toward Asia serve as an irritant.
- Recent, USA-China summit was immediately followed by China-Russia meet where two issued strong warnings over US Golden Dome missile defence system.
While a relatively stable U.S.-China relationship reduces risks to global growth, the new dynamics of coexistence of competition in calibrated and transactional form requires India to devise a calibrated approach in its policy.
