India–China relations and the SCO summit
In this Defence24 interview, Dr. Antonina Łuszczykiewicz-Mendis of the University of Oxford, China Centre, analyses the latest Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and its broader geopolitical implications. She explains how the SCO has become a key platform for dialogue, but also a stage where underlying rivalries are exposed.
Łuszczykiewicz-Mendis highlights that relations between India and China remain one of the most complex dynamics within the SCO. Despite both countries« participation, their border disputes, competition for influence in Asia, and differing strategic priorities continue to create friction.
She argues that the SCO’s role will depend on whether member states can move beyond symbolic declarations and manage these rivalries constructively. For India and China, the challenge is to cooperate within the framework without letting bilateral tensions destabilise the organisation or the wider region.
