Breaking the Geopolitical Shackles: Strategic Paths and Implementation Mechanisms for the Normalization of Bilateral Relations between China and Bhutan

Abstract

In order to break through the long-term constraints of the Indian factor on China-Bhutan  relations, the article explores three strategic paths of building mutual trust between China and Bhutan to eliminate strategic misunderstandings, deepening economic and trade co-operation to cultivate common interests, and strengthening multilateral co-ordination to cope with global challenges, and examines the refined modes of operation of the three major mechanisms of political party exchanges, economic and trade co-operation, and humanistic exchanges. The study shows that through the establishment of direct cooperation channels at multiple levels and in multiple fields, bypassing Indian influence, China-Bhutan relations are expected to make a historic transformation from ‘restricted interaction under the shadow of India’ to ‘independent and autonomous normal neighborhood relations’, which will not only fill in an important piece of the jigsaw puzzle of China’s peripheral diplomacy, but will also enhance the effectiveness of China’s relations with India and the world. This will not only fill in an important piece of China’s jigsaw puzzle of neighborhood diplomacy, but also provide a model for the practice of the concept of building a community of human destiny in the South Asian region.