India China relations:

• On 1st April 1950, India and China established diplomatic relations.
• India was the first non-communist country to develop ties with the People’s Republic of China.
• ‘Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai’ slogan then became famous.
• The border dispute in 1962 has led to a serious backlash in bilateral relations.
• But from 1976, China and India re-established ambassadorial relations, and gradually strengthened bilateral links.
• Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited China to begin the process of standardizing bilateral relations in 1988. 
• Then in 1992, R. Venkataraman, India’s first President who visited China since the Republic of India became independent.
• In 1996, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, the first Chinese head of state visited India since bilateral relations were established. There, Confidence-building steps have been signed-in the military sector along the Line of Actual Control in the Indian-China border areas.
• Indian President K R Narayanan visited China in 2000.
• In 2008, the two governments have agreed on “A Common Vision for the 21st Century.”
• In December 2010, the two countries issued a Joint Communique.
• The year 2011 was ‘China-India Exchange Year’ where series of people-to-people and cultural exchange activities took place and memorandum on joint compilation for the ‘Encyclopedia of India-China Cultural Contacts’ have been signed.
• The year 2012 was ‘Year of China-India Friendship and Cooperation’.
• In the year 2015, China opted to open the Nathu La Pass (Sikkim) to official Indian pilgrims to Xizang.
• Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi in 2018, visited China to attend the SCO Summit in Qingdao.
• The year 2020 marks the year of the 70th anniversary of Chinese-Indian diplomatic relations.

Regions of cooperation in India China relations:

• Politics and diplomatics
• Trade and economy
•  Defense
• Science and Technology
• Exchanges between people to people

India should maintain a cordial relation with China as:

• The compass of bilateral relations with China needs to be carefully set by India, but they have been diminished by NSG developments.
• The great Himalayan Divide between India and China was in evidence following the Chinese refusal to support India’s case for entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group. 
• While non-entry into the Group is not the end of the world, for India lives to fight another day, of concern is what the Chinese stance implies for the bilateral relationship between the two Asian giants. 
• Geopolitical rivalry and calibrated cooperation, seemingly antithetical, coexist within the framework of our relationship with China. 
• Beijing has cautioned that India should avoid getting “entangled” in the South China Sea issue, but there is also an expectation that it will continue to adhere to its stated policy of strategic autonomy. 
• In dealing with China, India has to be conscious of the fact that in terms of both economic and military capabilities, the asymmetry between the two countries continues to expand. There are only two ways to deal with this power asymmetry; one is to acquire and deploy capabilities which will make any aggressive military move by China a risky proposition. The other is to enmesh oneself more tightly in the U.S.-led countervailing coalition targeting China. The latter does run counter to India’s view of itself as an independent power but there is a steady creep in that direction.
• A careful balance has been maintained between the competitive and cooperative components of the relationship.
• Both need to downplay their differences and seek to create a positive ambiance.