139 - Understanding China - A Geopolitical Perspective | Shri Vijay Gokhale | Bharatvaarta | Policy

More than three decades later, the Tiananmen Square incident refuses to  be forgotten. The events that occurred in the summer of 1989 would not  only set the course for China's politics but would also re-define its  relationship with the world. China's message was clear: it remained  committed to market-oriented reform, but it would not tolerate any  challenge to the supremacy of the Chinese Communist Party. In return for  economic prosperity, the Chinese have surrendered some rights to the  state. A democratic future seems far away.  Vijay Gokhale, then a young diplomat serving in Beijing, was a witness  to the drama that unfolded in Tiananmen Square. This unique account  brings an Indian perspective on an event in China's history that the  Chinese government has been eager to have the world forget.   India's relations with the People's Republic of China have captured the  popular imagination ever since the 1950s but have rarely merited a  detailed understanding of the issues. Individual episodes tend to arouse  lively debate, which often dissipates without a deeper exploration of  the factors that shaped the outcomes.  Mr. Gokhale's book 'The Long Game' explores the dynamics of negotiation  between the two countries, from the early years after Independence until  the current times, through the prism of six historical and recent  events in the India-China relationship.