Brahma Chellaney (Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi), Larry Diamond (Hoover Institution), David Mulford (Hoover Institution)

Chinese expansionism under Xi Jinping is injecting greater instability and tension into the Indo-Pacific region. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the relationship between China and India, which make up more than a third of humanity and over a fifth of the global economy. That relationship has come under severe strain following China’s stealth encroachments in the northernmost borderlands of Ladakh in 2020. The aggression promises to sharpen the rivalry between the two Asian giants and engender important changes in Indian defense, trade and foreign policies.