ABSTRACT

This chapter reviews the development of China–India relations in the 1950s based on what was happening above and beneath the surface. On the surface, the bilateral relations of China and India experienced a short-lived golden time, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence was jointly proposed, and the Agreement on Tibet signed by the two sides temporarily solved the Tibetan issues. The two countries achieved a policy fit in the idea of building a peaceful surrounding. However, beneath the surface was a deepening contrast between the two sides in terms of the border issue, their roles in Asia, their leaders’ cognition, and their relations with other big powers. This chapter analyzes the Sino-Indian relationship beyond the purely bilateral diplomatic level and links domestic factors in the two countries and the world situation at the time to changes in the bilateral relationship, and thus aims to provide a new perspective on the dynamics of Sino-Indian relations.