Will India and China bond over Mahatma Gandhi?

Given longstanding border tensions between the two Asian neighbours, Mosiqi Acharya analyses whether today’s talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will set a milestone in conventional bilateral relations.

In almost every way, President Xi’s visit to India is going to be strikingly different from the previous engagements between the two countries. Breaking away from the tradition of receiving a foreign head of state in the national capital, Prime Minister Modi will receive President Xi in Ahmedabad, the financial hub and most populated city of the state of Gujarat, different and distant from opulent New Delhi. Before the crucial talks begin, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to take President Xi on a personal tour of Mahatma Gandhi’s abode: The Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad. The idea might be to draw inspiration from the Apostle of Peace as India strives to resolve its border issues with China without having to assert military might.

Disputed borders have always been and will likely always be a bone of contention between India and China. To say that discussion on border disputes will be part of the talks today would be an understatement.

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P.S: This was first published on Australian Institute of International Affairs' Australian Outlook.