China and India - the case for systematic escalation of cooperation

India and China are neighboring civilizations of ancient lineage that have exchanged people, goods and ideas over time. They have entertained a mutual attraction for each other in terms of important aspects of values and culture. They have also quarreled about their borders and engaged in war on several occasions in their long history of proximity. In the 21st C their huge populations have propelled them to incipient superpower status. Recent studies have shown that while there is cooperation between the two countries, this is not of a high order. Realistic conflict theory informs us of the propensity of competition between contending parties to generating reciprocal enemy imagery. The perception of the other as an enemy can increase measures to maximize security thus further escalating the potential for conflict. On the other hand, the promotion of positive reciprocal imagery generated through cooperation will encourage such cooperation to spill-over into widening circles of activity. This essay advocates a systematic expansion of cooperation between the countries under the direction of a joint commission. Cooperation under this scheme could be conceived of as the generation of a soft power space for the two countries – based on their mutual attraction derived from shared values, culture and history.