India-China: 70 Years Of Diplomatic Relations – Economics

Table of Contents

CURRENT AFFAIR

India and China mark the 1st April 2020 as the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between them
1950 till now.

CHRONOLOGY

1950
Established diplomatic relations on 1st April 1950.
India was the first non-socialist country to establish relations with the People’s Republic of China
1955
Both countries attended the Asian-African Conference in which 29 countries participated in Bandung, Indonesia and jointly advocated the Bandung Spirit of solidarity, friendship and cooperation.
It has led to the decolonisation of the whole of Asia and Africa and to the formation of a Non-Aligned Movement as the third Way between the Two Blocs of Superpowers.
The First NAM Summit Conference took place in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in September 1961.
1976
China and India restored ambassadorial relations and bilateral ties improved gradually.
1988
Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited China, initiating the process of normalization of bilateral relations.
The two sides agreed to look forward and develop bilateral relations actively in other fields while seeking a mutually acceptable solution to boundary questions.
1992
Indian President R. Venkataraman visited China.
He was the first President who visited China since the independence of the Republic of India.
1996
Chinese President Jiang Zemin visited India.
He was the first head of state from China who visited India since the establishment of bilateral ties.
Agreement between the Government of China and the Government of India on Confidence Building Measures in the Military Field along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas was signed.
2000
Indian President K R Narayanan visited China on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and India.
2008
“A Shared Vision for the 21st Century” was agreed upon by the two governments.
2010
The 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and India.
In December, the two countries issued a Joint Communiqué.
2011
It was the ‘China-India Exchange Year’.
Both sides held a series of people-to-people and cultural exchange activities.
Both of them signed a memorandum on joint compilation for the ‘Encyclopedia of India-China Cultural Contacts’.
2012
It was the ‘Year of China-India Friendship and Cooperation’.
The head of the governments met each other on the sidelines of the 4th BRICS Summit and the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.
2018
Chinese President held an informal meeting with Indian Prime Minister in Wuhan
Set up a new model of exchanges between two leaders.
Indian Prime Minister visited China to attend the SCO Summit in Qingdao.
The two leaders met again on the sidelines of the 10th BRICS Summit and the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires.
2019
The second informal meeting was held in Mamallapuram, Chennai
Reaffirmed the Wuhan consensus.
Agreed to build a closer partnership for development, enhance the in-depth strategic communication, promote mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and advance exchanges and mutual learning between the two civilizations.
Both sides met on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Bishkek and the 11th BRICS Summit.
2020
It marks the year of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India.
It is also China-India Year of Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges, where the two sides agreed to hold 70 celebratory activities to demonstrate the historic connection between the two civilizations as well as their growing bilateral relationship.

Political and Diplomatic Relations

The Communist Party of China (CPC) has maintained friendly exchanges with 9 major Indian political parties including the BJP, Congress and left-wing parties for a long time.
20 Inter-parliamentary friendship groups have been set up by China and India.
There are 50 dialogue mechanisms between China and India for exchanging views on various topics of bilateral, regional and global concern.

Economy and Trade

Since the beginning of the 21st century, trade between China and India has grown from less than $3 billion to nearly $100 billion, an increase of about 32 times.
In 2019, the trade volume between China and India was $92.68 billion.
Combined market of over 2.7 billion people and a GDP of 20% of the world’s total.

Science and Technology

Both nations have held Joint Research workshops on Science and Technology Innovation.
Indian companies have set up IT corridors in China.

Defense

‘Hand-in-Hand’ joint anti-terrorist exercises to enhance mutual understanding and trust, exchange training experiences and jointly improve anti-terrorism capabilities.
China-India defense and security consultation to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the defense field.

People-to-People Exchanges

Both nations have held meetings of China-India High-Level People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges Mechanism.
The two sides have made new progress on exchanges and cooperation in the fields of art, publishing, media, film and television, museum, sports, youth, tourism, locality, traditional medicine, yoga, education and think tanks.
The two countries have established pairs of sister cities and provinces. For example, sister provinces and cities between Fujian Province and Tamil Nadu State, Quanzhou City and Chennai City.
The number of Indian pilgrims to Xizang Autonomous Region of China has surged.