South China Morning Post: China-India Row as Catalyst?

India and China agreed to disengaging troops in the Doklam area of Bhutan after a two-month standoff. The announcement came just before the BRICS summit, starting September 3, for representatives of China and India as well as Brazil, Russia and South Africa. BRICS could be the ideal setting to develop an ongoing process for handling such disputes, suggest economists and researchers interviewed by Sarah Zheng. “BRICS countries account for 40 per cent of the world’s population and 20 per cent of its gross domestic product,” she writes. Analysts said that the BRICS organization promotes global cooperation and multi-polarization could not survive hostilities between China and India. “New Delhi has long been wary of Beijing’s activities in the region – especially its ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ trade plan and investment in ports in South Asia – and is unhappy with India’s increasing trade deficit with China, which stood at US$46.6 billion in 2016,” Zheng writes, adding that “China and India would be keen to avoid damaging their economic ties.” – YaleGlobal