Numerous books on China–India relations have been published in the last two decades using different theoretical frameworks, with realism being the predominant school of thought. Lu Yang's book is a welcome addition to the literature, because few authors have employed social constructivism to explain China–India relations. The author employs national interest and national identity as “umbrella terms” (p. 12) in the rubric of constructivism. The national identity of the two countries comprises being identified as civilization states, nation states, rising powers/emerging powers, developing countries and regional powers (chapter one, p. 12), while their national interest comprises economic development, security and status.
Lu utilizes qualitative research and content analysis, and has conducted interviews with government officials, retired diplomats, strategic thinkers and scholars from different universities and think-tanks in India and China, which augments the empirical richness and analytical robustness of the study. The emphasis is on the 21st century, but the author does not specify the end of the time period of the study, which is a slight oversight.
The interrelationship between national interest and national identity – that is, the role played by national identity in constructing national interest – is illustrated and explained lucidly by the author. In chapters six and seven, Lu uses the “umbrella term” to provide a good understanding of the foreign policy decision-making in the two countries, their mutual perceptions and foreign policy strategies with respect to each other. However, there is a lack of conceptual clarity related to China's national interest in the realm of economic development and security, which is discussed in chapter four. The author states that the Communist Party of China (CCP) is paramount in China and China is a Party state (p. 53). Lu does not distinguish between the CCP's and China's interests or assume that are the same, which leads to flaws in the conceptual framework employed by the author. The core interest of the CCP is its survival. The legitimacy of the CCP is based on providing economic growth and development to the people and protecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of China. Thus, the survival of the CCP is the overriding interest, and economic growth, development and security are secondary (although they do help to achieve the primary interest). However, Lu considers economic growth, development and security as the primary interests of the CCP.
The author asserts that India and China cooperate with each other – especially at the global level – because of their shared identities as developing countries, rising and emerging powers, and because of their interest in economic development – to improve the standard of living and quality of life of their citizens. For instance, India and China cooperate with each other in reform of the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO among others, and in restructuring the global architecture through BRICS and the New Development Bank in accordance with their norms and values (chapter three). Their identities as regional powers and nation states gives rise to conflict in the security domain and conflicts with their interest of survival (that is, independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty and autonomy) and their great power ambitions. This conflict also percolates into other realms and undermines cooperation, especially at the regional level in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Indian Ocean Rim Association and the East Asia Summit, among others (chapters three, four and five). The future of China–India relations will be influenced by their national interests and national identities. It will be marked by cooperation in the economic and political realms and competition in the political, security and strategic spheres due to the unresolved border dispute and misperceptions of the governing elites.
Lu provides an historical account of India's and China's relations with the US, the Soviet Union and Pakistan, but does not discuss this in detail. Additionally, she does not discuss India's relations with Japan, Australia and countries in Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam and Myanmar under the aegis of India's Look/Act East Policy. Thus, she fails to explain that the bilateral relationship is a sum of trilateral and quadrilateral relationships.
Lu provides a good comparative insight into the complex and convoluted foreign policy decision-making process in the two countries by opening up the “black box.” She provides a good comparative perspective of different factors which influence foreign policy in the two countries such as media, public opinion, strategic elites, perception (and misperception), nationalism, civilization ethos and strategic culture (chapters six and chapter seven). The reader realizes that relative to China, India lacks a coherent foreign policy and foreign policy decision-making is muddled.
The book offers a nuanced and balanced discussion and analysis of the different aspects of the versatile relationship between India and China. The book informs policy makers by providing suggestions to improve the bilateral relationship through dialogue, better coordination in consolidating existing mechanisms and exploring new ones, public diplomacy and increase in cultural and educational exchange among others to reduce the mistrust and misperceptions (chapter seven).
Lu's book is an easy read and helps the reader to get a good grasp of Asian politics, the India–China bilateral relationship, foreign policy decision-making, and numerous factors which influence foreign policy in the two countries. However, the reader should be mindful of the errors and omissions.
