Chintan Research Foundation (CRF) is an emerging independent think-tank dedicated to shaping policy through rigorous research and thought leadership. With a strong focus on fostering collaboration between policymakers and industry, CRF integrates practical insights into its research and advocacy efforts. It conducts comprehensive research to support informed decision-making and engages with stakeholders through discussions, events, and publications. CRF’s research is focused on three core areas—Climate Change and Energy Transition, Economy and Trade, and Geopolitics and Strategic Studies. The Centre for Geopolitics & Strategic Studies serves as a center of excellence for the analysis of global power dynamics, international relations, and strategic affairs. By examining multilateral organizations, regional developments, naval strategy and maritime security, and emerging geopolitical issues, our experts provide insights that shape foreign policy and strategic decision-making. With a strong emphasis on the Global South, our research fosters dialogue and cooperation to redefine global governance and balance power asymmetries.

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‘You can change friends but not neighbours and only good fences make good neighbours’ Why do India and China still behave as adversaries despite geographical and civilizational proximity? What defines their choices as rational actors in a rapidly changing world order? Is there a method to the ‘quixotic’ madness for resources and race? This volume attempts to provide some answers…. India–China relations are increasingly shaped by an intractable calculus of power in which competition, cooperation and strategic caution coexist. Beyond the unresolved boundary dispute, the relationship is embedded in wider contests over economic influence, technology, connectivity, regional order and the future architecture of the Global South. Despite significant economic, technological and military asymmetry, neither country exercises uncomplicated dominance. India seeks to manage this asymmetry through strategic autonomy, issue-based partnerships and calibrated engagement, while China continues to expand its influence across India’s neighbourhood and beyond. This volume examines how these dynamics shape Indian and Chinese choices across bilateral, regional and multilateral arenas. Essays explore the historical nostalgia and narratives, current exigencies and strategic mistrust that constrain cooperation while identifying possibilities for coexistence. The volume conceptualises India–China relations not through the lens of a choice between engagement and confrontation, but as a continuous negotiation between the imperatives of economic coexistence and the realities of strategic competition. Section-I: Conceptual Foundations and Strategic Thought 1. China and the Global Trading Order: Norm Shaper, System Challenger, and India’s Strategic Quandary Shishir Priyadarshi 2. Who Lost China? A Story of Unresolved Dilemmas Amb. Nirupama Rao 3. India, China and Competing Visions of National Interests, Global Responsibilities and Leadership Manoj Kewalramani and Anushka Saxena 4. China’s Periphery Diplomacy and India’s Strategic Encirclement: How China and India Jostle to Manage the Neighbourhood Chaos Bhavna Singh 5. Tagore, Asia, and the Cultural Roots of India–China Strategic Thought Sreshtha Chakraborty 6. Between the Border and the Balance Sheet: De-risking India’s Relationship with China Bidisha Bhattacharya and Lakshmi Kusuma Kotha Section-II: Border, Trade and Bilateral Narratives 7. Narratives at the Frontier: Indian and Chinese Perceptions of the Border Dispute and Pathways toward Strategic Stabilisation Esha Banerji 8. China’s Peripheral Strategy and India’s Central Dilemma Lt. Gen. Shokin Chauhan 9. Chinese Narratives on the US Factor in the China-India Thaw Ivan Lidarev 10. Media Discourses on Changing Narratives in the Digital Era: A Study of China’s Information Warfare in the Indian Subcontinent Madhukar Shyam and Ila Joshi 11. Mirroring Anxieties, Refracting Reality: Analysing Indian and Chinese Media Discourses on Strategic Rapprochement Anugya Bharadwaj and Prachi Aggarwal Section-III: Regional and Global Contestations 12. Securing Leverage Through Infrastructure Diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific: India’s Balancing Game Against China Shrabana Barua 13. Transnational Connectivity-China’s BRI vs India-led Regional Connectivity: Competition or Co-Existence Col. Rajeev Agarwal 14. China in the Global South: Prospects for Cooperation with India Prashant Kumar Singh 15. Power and Geography in US-India-China Dynamics: Evolution, Metamorphosis, and Implications Monish Tourangbam 16. Asymmetries in India–China Relations: Navigating a Changing World Order Swati Arun 17. Norms, Ethos, Governance and the Sino-Indian Contestation in the IOR Irfan ul Haq, Pooja Bhatt and Aparajita Pandey Section-IV: Security, Defence & Strategic Competition 18. Defence, Dual-Use Technologies, and Strategic Industry: China’s Lead and India’s Modernisation Curve Bhavna Singh 19. Russia–China’s ‘No Limits’ Nexus: Strategic Convergence, Hidden Frictions, and India’s Concerns Indrani Talukdar 20. The Bay of Bengal Pivot: Re-alignment of Myanmar, China’s Myanmar Foothold, and India’s Strategic Dilemma Cchavi Vasisht 21. India’s Strategic Nightmare: Loosing the Neighbourhood Gunjan Singh 22. India and China in Africa: Structural Asymmetries and Strategic Choices Poorvie Section-V: Resources, Talent and Competition 23. India, China and the Geopolitics of Talent Divyanshu Jindal 24. Assessing India’s Role in Central Asia amid China’s Dominance Ayushi Saini 25. India-China and the Contours of ‘Managed Competition’ Nidhi Taneja 26. Decoding China’s Strategy towards Energy Exploration in the Western Indian Ocean Region: Preferences and Challenges Neeraj Singh Manhas and Mrinmoy Kumar Deb Afterword: Power Asymmetry as a Factor in India-China Relations Srikanth Kondapalli