As India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi starts his much-anticipated three-day visit to China on Thursday, hopes are high that Sino-Indian ties can transcend the turbulence of recent years. But the optimist might be disappointed. This trip could be a success—or, at least, an improvement on recent bilateral summits—if for its duration the Chinese military simply refrains from encroaching on Indian soil along the countries’ contentious border.
Mr. Modi has painted a sober picture of the Sino-Indian relationship, suggesting that the two sides have “learnt from history” in dealing with their border dispute and can cooperate at the strategic level while competing in commerce and trade. China has also made the right noises, with Premier Li Keqiang underlining that China’s relations with India are pregnant with “historical opportunities.” He also called for resolving the boundary dispute, “a problem left over from history.”
Mr. Modi will get a red-carpet welcome in China. He will be hosted by President Xi Jinping at the ancient city of Xian, capital of the Chinese leader’s home province. The Indian leader visited China four times in his former post as chief minister of Gujarat, but this time he will be looking at the larger picture. As a pretrip outreach he joined the Chinese microblogging site Weibo and quickly gained thousands of followers.
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