ISAS Briefs

The latest state visit to China by India's President Pranab Mukherjee was not aimed at achieving a breakthrough on any of the issues between the two Asian neighbours. The main significance of this trip was to assess the relative importance of India and China to each other. Chinese President Xi Jinping wanted India to 'merge' its Look East policy with his own Belt-and-Road Initiative, while President Mukherjee sought 'new momentum' in the Sino-Indian engagement.