China has always been aggressive towards India. The bilateral trade between India and China has grown significantly in the last decade, from USD 3 billion in 2001 to USD 81.66 billion in 2020. The imports from China was USD 65.26 and export USD16.6 billion. The trade is skewed highly in China’s favour.
Besides, China has a Sino-centric world view implying that they have been always at the centre of the world. China views India as a competitor in South Asia and particularly in the Indian Ocean region. China’s policy towards the South Asian region is essential to diminish the strategic space for India in the region. The increasing “strategic glue” between Pakistan and China is aimed at countering India. China has ignored Indian sentiments and declared the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative. China is also wary of growing proximity between India- US relations, Indian active participation in the QUAD and military exercises such as Malabar exercises. The aggressive posture in Chinese Foreign Policy has stepped up under Xi Jinping. China has become very aggressive in the South China Sea, East China Sea, Taiwan Strait and the India-China border at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
At the LAC the number of border incidents has also increased in frequency and scale; Depsang in 2013, Chumar in 2014, Doklam in 2017 and Galwan in 2020. Seemingly, Xi Jinping himself has orchestrated some of these skirmishes himself. These incidents are also in line with Chinese aggressive foreign policy which is visible in the Wolf Warrior Diplomacy across the world. China has set the two centenary goals; first to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2021 and second to build a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious. Frequently, through its aggressive foreign policy postures, Xi Jinping is reinstating China’s supremacy and assurances to its citizens that they are moving towards their goal.