Can the Elephant and the Dragon Dance Together?

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Hello, this is Ravish Kumar. So, are India and China ready to dance together? Recently, Chinese President Xi Jinping remarked that the “elephant and the dragon can dance together.”

Now, in politics, the metaphor of dance has many shades. Sometimes, it means: who is dancing on whose tune? Who is pulling the strings? That kind of dance is unhealthy. The real dance worth celebrating is one where both partners appear equal—where the steps are in balance, where dignity and respect are intact.

In October 2024, Prime Minister Modi met Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia. Later, he visited Beijing after seven years. Yet, the border tensions that erupted in Eastern Ladakh five years ago remain unresolved. Reports suggest that more than 50,000 soldiers remain stationed on both sides. Strikingly, the Prime Minister avoided speaking about the border issue directly. India rarely calls out China openly—be it about Doklam (2017) or Galwan (2020). Instead, we hear routine lines about “maintaining peace and stability” on the border. But is that enough?

Meanwhile, trade paints a very different picture. Since 2020, India’s dependency on Chinese imports has only grown. The trade deficit stands at nearly $100 billion. India buys, China sells. But what exactly does India produce that China must buy? The imbalance continues because India cannot yet find alternatives to Chinese products. This proves that trade flows smoothly even when strategic ties are strained.

The real question is: after the SCO meeting, has anything fundamentally changed between India and China? Is there any new sense of parity that makes it look like two equals preparing to dance gracefully, mesmerizing the world as the “elephant and dragon” twirl together?

Xi may invoke this poetic image, but his actual dance partner remains Pakistan. He pulls the strings there with ease. Russia, too, continues to openly call Pakistan a “traditional friend.” During the SCO summit, while Modi’s photo-ops with world leaders made headlines in India, pictures of Xi, Putin, and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told a parallel story.

Back home, pro-government media celebrated the summit as a triumph. But the truth is murkier. India refrains from naming China when it comes to terrorism, even though China continues to shield Pakistan in global forums. For instance, after the Pahalgam attack, India highlighted the “condemnation” of terrorism in joint statements as a victory. But in the same breath, terror attacks in Pakistan, like the Jafar Express bombing, were also condemned. Whose victory was that?

The contradictions run deep. Modi says India and China are “victims of terrorism.” But when exactly was China a victim? When has it suffered terror attacks like India? These vague equivalences only blur the truth.

And while Modi emphasizes “strategic autonomy” and insists relations should not be seen through a third country’s lens, the reality is clear: China won’t abandon Pakistan. India won’t name China. The stalemate continues.

All the while, optics dominate. Viral photos, hugs, and handshakes flood the headlines. Yet, significant absences remain unspoken. For instance, India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar did not travel with the delegation—officially due to “health reasons.” But his absence from key bilateral talks with Xi and Putin was glaring. It reminded me of the 1990s when even a seriously ill Foreign Minister, Dinesh Singh, was flown in a wheelchair to Tehran to secure Iran’s support for India at the UN. That was diplomacy at work, beyond optics.

Today, however, diplomacy risks being reduced to photo opportunities. China pushes its dominance through platforms like the SCO, much like India once did with SAARC. But where is SAARC today? Forgotten.

The bottom line: if the elephant and the dragon must dance, the rhythm must come from trust, balance, and equality. A dance partner is not someone you control with your fingers but someone you move in harmony with. Xi Jinping may speak of such a dance, but is he really offering one? Or is he simply reminding India of an invitation while twirling Pakistan in the meantime?

Until India calls out the contradictions and demands real parity, the so-called “dance” risks remaining nothing more than a performance staged for the cameras.