Ex-diplomat, Chinese scholar clash over India-China fault lines

A former Indian foreign secretary and a Chinese professor have clashed over the root cause of the bitter India-China rivalry. Nirupama Rao, who also served as India’s ambassador to China from 2006 to 2009, and Lin Minwang, a Fudan University scholar, disagreed on whether history or politics is the bigger barrier in an exchange published by the South China Morning Post. Rao represented India’s diplomatic perspective, while Lin offered the Chinese academic view.

Lin argued that the 1962 war has become a core part of India’s national identity, making it difficult for New Delhi to abandon its narrative of China as an expansionist power without rewriting its own history. He said changing that perception would require altering deep-rooted national identity narratives. He also noted that more Chinese now hold negative views of India, partly because access to foreign views online has grown since Covid-19.

The debate also touched on the border dispute, Pakistan’s role, and India’s ties with the United States. The two diplomats-turned-authors examined whether trust can be rebuilt between Beijing and New Delhi in an increasingly multipolar world.