Research On Sino-Indian Relations In The 1950s

Sino-Indian relations experienced dramatic changes during the 1950 s.In April 1950,China and India established diplomatic relations and a relationship of friendly cooperation between the two countries reached a summit in the mid 1950 s.With the restructuring of the world's pattern,especially influenced by the Tibet issue and border disputes,Sino-Indian relations became increasingly tense and finally came to a deadlock after the armed conflicts caused by border disputes in 1959.Growing out of nothing,turning from warm to cold and fluctuating sharply were the most striking features of Sino-Inidan relations during this period.The international factors,domestic factors and geographical factors that had propelled the development and evolution of Sino-Inidan relations are now still influencing the development of the contemporary SIno-Inidan relations.Through looking at the history of this period in retrospect carefully and drawing experience and lessons from the past,this thesis mainly studies the Sino-Inidan relations during the 1950 s,hoping to be of some benefits to the diplomatic practices of China today.Adopting a guiding ideology and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism,this thesis divided Sino-Indian relations of this period into five stages according to the international pattern during the Cold War,the domestic politics of China and India,the Tibet issue,border disputes and several other key factors affecting Sino-Indian relations.After India's independence in 1947,the Nehru government inherited the British policy on Tibet and attempted to turn Tibet into a buffer zone between China and India.So,India supported the secessionist activities in Tibet and gradually pushed forward to the McMahon Line using military means.These activities met strong opposition from China.In 1950,China and India established diplomatic relations.Then,the Nehru government adhered to the one-China principle and supported China in restoring legitimate seat in the United Nations.On the Korean War issues,the two countries also actively supported and cooperated with each other.However,when it's attempt to undermine the peaceful liberation of Tibet ended in vain,the Indian government started to push forward massively to the McMahon Line.To 1953,India had occupied all the Chinese territory north of the traditional customary line and south of the McMahon Line.In 1954,China and India signed the Panchsheel Agreement,which solved preliminarily the Tibetan issue.After that,the prime ministers of the two countries made an exchange of visits.China and India made close cooperation in Geneva Conference,Bandung Conference and other major international events.The two countries also carried out frequent cultural exchanges.Sino-Indian relations reached a summit at that time.In 1956,the internal contradictions within both the US bloc and Soviet bloc were uncovered.In order to obtain an advantageous position in the Cold War,both the US and the USSR tried to improve their relations with India.So,the Indian-US and Indian-Soviet relations gradually went up.At the same time,China and the US were still in a state of confrontation and the Sino-Soviet relations were also deteriorating.A shift in the world pattern and the adjustment of relations between great powers squeezed the room for cooperation between China and India.So,Sino-Inidan relations gradually went down.After the Tibet rebellion in March 1959,the Nehru government's interference in China's internal affairs damaged Sino-Indian relations and was firmly opposed by the Chinese government.The fight between China and India caused by Tibet rebellion soon expanded to the border disputes.The consequent Longju and Kongka Pass clashes further aggravated Sino-Indian relations.Sino-Indian relations gradually turned from friendliness to confrontation,which finally led to the Sino-Indian border war in 1962.Thus,Sino-Indian relations dropped to the freezing point during this period.This thesis maintains that the radical ups and downs of Sino-Indian relations in the 1950 s were caused by the joint functions of two trends,meaning the trend of friendly cooperation and the trend of tense confrontation in Sino-Inidan relations during this period.These two trends interwove with each other.Therefore,the tension and detente of Sino-Indian relations usually appeared alternatively,constituting the basic characteristics of Sino-Indian relations during this period.The Cold War jeopardized the peace of Asia as well as the world and became a common challenge both China and India had to dealt with.Combating imperialism and colonialism and pursuing the peace of Asia and the world had become the key factors that promoted the friendly cooperation between China and India.In the Cold War,based on the historical and realistic reasons,the geopolitical competition between China and India,such as the Tibet issue and border disputes,was the fundamental cause that led to the aggravation of Sino-Indian relations.The specific world pattern and geopolitical competition were the structural factors that affected the development of Sino-Indian relations.Besides,the non-structural factors,including the domestic political pattern of the two countries and the ideological differences between them,also had a huge influence on the development of the two countries' relations.In brief,the interdependence between China and India was not strong.If the shift of the world pattern posed a common challenge to China and India,especially when this challenge could offer enough space of cooperation for the two countries,Sino-Indian relations would turn to the trend of becoming better.Otherwise,border disputes and other geographical factors would cause the tension and even confrontation between China and India.These two factors offered us important reference in analyzing the trend of Sino-Indian relations.