The improving relationship between India and China could reshape the global geopolitical order, according to Jeffrey Sachs. The Columbia University professor said deeper cooperation between the two countries could strengthen multilateralism, support economic ties, and reduce the scope for a US-led international system. He argued that shared interests in peace, trade, investment, and global stability were significantly greater than their differences.
Sachs emphasized that India and China should position themselves as a stable base for global peace and cooperation rather than competing alternatives. "These are the two giants, each representing nearly 20% of humanity, and we, all of us in the world, need peace and cooperation between the two giants," he said. His comments come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have stepped up engagement, with recent meetings at the SCO Summit and an upcoming visit by Xi to India for the BRICS Summit.
Sachs noted that the economic case for greater cooperation was strong, with shared interests in a stable global environment outweighing historical divisions. Closer ties between India and China could alter the wider geopolitical equation, signaling to the US and the West that they are willing to cooperate internationally but would not accept a US-led global order. "We want to cooperate, but we will never be subservient.
And we do not accept a US-led world. We do not accept unipolarity," Sachs said. He also highlighted historical tensions, including a 1914 boundary drawn by a British official, as contributing to decades of difficulties.
The economic benefits of cooperation could extend across trade, investment, technology, and global value chains, while geopolitical gains could be broader. The BRICS Summit, hosted by India from September 12, comes at a time when the grouping seeks to give greater weight to the Global South. Sachs believes stronger India-China ties would be central to this effort, potentially becoming one of the foundations of a more genuinely multipolar international system.
Source: CNBC TV18
