India-China Relations in the 21st Century: Cooperation, Competition and Conflict

India-China relations in the 21st century represent one of the most complex and strategically significant bilateral relationships in contemporary international politics. As two rising powers in Asia, India and China interact across multiple domains, including trade, diplomacy, security, and global governance. This relationship is simultaneously characterised by expanding economic cooperation, intensifying strategic competition, and persisten t political and military conflict, particularly along their disputed border. This article examines the evolution of India-China relations by analysing historical legacies, economic interdependence, border disputes, regional geopolitics, and diplomatic enga gement. Drawing on realist, liberal, and constructivist perspectives, the study argues that India-China relations are best understood as a pattern of competitive coexistence, where cooperation and conflict coexist without resolving underlying structural te nsions. The article concludes by assessing the challenges and prospects for managing bilateral relations in an evolving regional and global order