India-China relations; Japan and South Korea

India and China are two ancient civilisations and the two most populous countries. Before Western imperialism they had little direct political contact, though ideas and trade (and Buddhism) travelled between them.

After independence there was early warmth: the slogan 'Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai' and the Panchsheel principles of 1954. It did not last:

• China took control of Tibet in 1950, which India had seen as a buffer.
• In 1962, the two fought a border war over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin. India was defeated. Diplomatic relations were downgraded and restored fully only in 1976.

Thaw: Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's visit to China in 1988 began a new phase. Both agreed to keep peace on the border while talking about the dispute, and to grow trade and exchanges. Trade rose from $338 million in 1992 to over $84 billion in 2017.

Irritants remain:

• the unsettled border, with clashes from time to time;
• China's close ties with Pakistan, such as the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its stand at the UN;
• competition for influence in South Asia.

Cooperation happens too: in the WTO, on climate talks, and on energy security. Two big neighbours must find a way to live with each other.

Two more Asian centres of power:

• Japan: rebuilt after 1945 into one of the world's biggest economies and a member of the G-7. Its constitution's Article 9 renounces war, so it relies on its alliance with the US for security, while spending heavily on its self-defence forces.
• South Korea: a poor, war-torn country in the 1950s, it grew so fast that its rise is called the 'Miracle on the Han River'. It joined the rich countries' OECD in 1996 and is known for brands like Samsung and Hyundai.