A recent Global Times survey reveals that over 90% of Chinese respondents want to learn more about India, and nearly 70% hope to visit for tourism. Mumbai and New Delhi top their travel list, reflecting growing curiosity and cultural exchange. Meanwhile, nearly 70% of Indians believe that a close and cooperative relationship between the two countries would be beneficial for India. Specifically, a “balanced relationship of cooperation and competition” between China and India is relatively more recognised in both countries, with 30% of India and 33% of China agreeing.
The state-owned English news digital platform Global Times recently conducted a survey between May 23 and June 5 in China and India, interviewing people about their perceptions of India’s role on the global stage, China-India relations, and India-US relations. Indian respondents show a high level of recognition of their country’s influence and role in both regional and global contexts.
Specifically, 70% of respondents agree that India is the security provider in the Indian Ocean region, while 60% agree that India is a leader in South Asia and among global Southern countries. In terms of global status, 67% of respondents agree that India is a global leader, higher than the agreement on India being a balancing force between the US, China, and Russia. Respondents also have a positive view of India’s role in the global economy.
In comparison, the recognition rates of Chinese respondents for these roles in India did not exceed half. Especially in terms of whether India is a global leading power and a leader of developing countries in the Global South, the non-recognition rates among Chinese respondents exceeded 60%; the non-recognition rates for its role as a leader in South Asia and as one of the main engines of global economic development was also just below 50%.
Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times that the huge differences in the perceptions of India’s regional and global status between Indian respondents and Chinese respondents are largely due to the different media environments in which the two groups are situated.
“For the Indian respondents, they tend to view India’s comprehensive national strength and growth from a vertical perspective. With favorable internal and external factors, India is currently facing rare strategic development opportunities since independence and rising. India’s relatively good development trend, coupled with the catalysis of the Indian government’s ‘great power narrative,’ has sparked confidence and pride among many Indian people,” Qian said.
On the other hand, Chinese interviewees tend to view India’s position in the world today from a horizontal perspective, considering India as a country in the second tier of development, lagging behind China and having a significant gap with China, despite its relatively good development trend, he said.
Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that while Indians showed a high level of recognition with their country’s leadership position in the survey, India has not fulfilled its responsibilities properly. Hu said that India currently still faces many challenges in the international system and cannot be regarded as a first-class power.
More than 60 percent of Indian respondents in the survey believe that India’s GDP could surpass that of the US in 30 years or even earlier, with 46 percent believing it can happen within 20 years and 25 percent of respondents believing it can happen within 10 years. Qian pointed out that according to the most optimistic forecast, India’s GDP is expected to surpass $4 trillion, joining the “4 trillion GDP club” with Germany and Japan. It is possible that India could surpass Germany and Japan within the next 5 years. However, even in this scenario, and with the growth rates of the US and China stagnating, it would theoretically take at least two to three generations for India to surpass the US and China, Qian said.
Mixed feelings in China-India relations
For those respondents from both countries who think the bilateral relations haven’t become closer in the past five years, the border issue between China and India is considered the main obstacle to the relationship. More than 70% of Indian respondents believe that the US is or may be the main factor hindering friendly relations between China and India. According to Qian, in recent years, many Indian people have believed that China-Indian relations are not good, and the momentum of mutual competition between the two countries has become apparent.
At the same time, the survey also shows that 53% of Indian respondents facing China’s development believe that India should learn from China’s successful development experience, while more than 30% think it should not. The survey indicates that people in both China and India have a strong desire to learn about each other’s countries. Visiting India for tourism (89%) is the primary reason Chinese respondents want to go to India, significantly higher than other reasons. Nearly 30% of respondents hope to visit India for short-term business trips or visits. Hu believes there is still a lack of understanding between the people of China and India and that mutual trust needs to be strengthened.
“Currently, the stereotypes among the people are still strong. Many Indians’ understanding of China remains stuck in the 1980s and 1990s.” Hu urged that both countries should engage in more exchanges and cooperation to promote the healthy development of bilateral relations. Regarding the future of China-India relations, Hu believes that with Modi’s third term, the challenges will increase.
“The border issues between China and India have not been resolved, and India has always emphasised that border issues are the entirety of China-India bilateral relations, which is incorrect.” He emphasised, “With Modi’s third term, India should actively promote the forward development of China-India relations and not get entangled in a single issue.”
Team BharatShakti
