54% feel border dispute along LAC biggest stressor in India-China relations, finds survey

The survey also asked respondents whether ties with China would have been better had President Xi Jinping not been in charge in Beijing

The Takshashila Institution 2024 survey report on ‘Pulse of the People: State of India-China Relations’ was released on Tuesday. According to the report a key takeaway was that about 54% of the respondents felt that the border dispute along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was the biggest stressor in the India-China relations.

“A majority of respondents (54.4%) shared the sentiment articulated by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, that the boundary dispute along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is at the front and center of the current tensions in India-China relations,” states the report.

Chinese talent in Indian industries

To a question on whether India should be open to Chinese talent working in the Indian industrial setup in sectors where Indians do not have requisite skills, 54% said ‘yes’, while 39% said ‘no’, and 8.4% said ‘can’t say’.

“The survey asked respondents whether ties with China would have been better had President Xi Jinping not been in charge in Beijing, and if China had been a multi-party democracy similar to India. Interestingly, a vast majority (61.5%) believe that if the Chinese political ecosystem was more democratic, with multiple political parties contesting for leadership and power, India’s relations with China may well have been better,” the report stated.

It further added that many expressed uncertainty (46.6%) that if anyone other than Xi were leading China, India-China relations would be better. “This indicates that there is a belief that the trajectory of the relationship between the two rising neighbours is bound to be difficult regardless of the leader in power in Beijing,” it added.

Anushka Saxena, staff research analyst at the institute’s Indo-Pacific Studies Programme, said that survey comprised 11 inquiries and that they received responses from over 600 respondents with diverse backgrounds. “One third of the respondents were youth,” she said.

A panel discussion on a new modus vivendi with China was also held after the release of the report.

Published - December 17, 2024 11:20 pm IST