India and China are not ordinary neighbours. Both nations are ancient civilizations, two major Asian powers and two consequential actors in the emerging world order. The relationship between them is complex and multifaceted, characterized both by cooperation and competition.

Given the context, learning Chinese language in India should not be understood merely as a cultural  or academic activity. It needs to be perceived as strategic literacy – the capacity to communicate with China in its language, concepts and social narratives. Language is significant in international relations since states not only engage with each other through armies, economy, and diplomacy. They also engage with each other by means of perceptions, narratives and public opinion. For India, this matters especially when it comes to China most of the discourses about China in India are filtered through English-language sources, western media, or security-oriented narratives. However, studying Chinese is not about sympathy for China, but about gaining a more accurate, independent and professional understanding of one of India’s most important neighbours.

In the context of diplomatic history, the need is apparent. India was the first non-socialist bloc country to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China on 1 April 1950. As stated by the Ministry of External Affairs of India, the two states have more than thirty dialogue mechanisms covering various spheres like politics, economy, culture, consular affairs, and people-to-people contacts. However, it is also noted that the relations have been impacted negatively by the events at the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh during April to May 2020. The combination of engagement and mistrust clearly indicates why India requires more China specialists rather than fewer of them.

India-China trade remains large and structurally significant. According to India Brand Equity Foundation data, bilateral trade reached US$127.69 billion in FY25, while India’s exports to China stood at US$14.25 billion and imports from China reached US$113.45 billion. This imbalance is not only a commercial challenge; it is also a knowledge challenge. Indian businesses, policymakers, journalists and researchers need professionals who can read Chinese industrial policy documents, follow provincial economic trends, understand supply-chain debates and communicate directly with Chinese counterparts. A serious economic strategy toward China requires linguistic capacity as well as commercial planning.

A serious understanding of China requires India not only to comprehend China from a security perspective, but also from economic, environmental and neighbourhood perspectives. China is not only India’s border security challenge. It is also a manufacturing powerhouse, a technological leader, a diplomatic actor, and civilizational neighbour. Thus, India requires a wider China studies environment where language training will be combined with international relations, economics, history, media studies, technological policies and strategic studies. The lack of synergy between linguistic competence and analysis is another consistent problem. The learner of the Chinese language can be a fluent speaker of Mandarin who lacks knowledge of Chinese political economy or foreign relations. Alternatively, the analyst of the country’s politics may have studied China’s strategic position without being able to analyse Chinese-language documents. To achieve the serious level of China expertise, India needs both. The language cannot be considered only from the point of view of its role in translation work and tourism; it needs to be linked to area studies, diplomacy, strategic thinking, business, logistics and contemporary Chinese politics.

Multilingualism and acquisition of foreign languages as an aspect of international experience is explicitly stated in India’s National Education Policy 2020. Chinese is not on the list despite the fact that China is one of India’s most influential neighbouring countries. This creates an avoidable knowledge gap. When a country is strategically important, problematic and sometimes even adversarial, then knowledge of its language becomes more necessary, not less.

Northeastern India is one of the regions that deserve special attention. Due to its geographical location, relevance in the context of India’s Act East Policy and the role it might play in border management, trade and regional connectivity, the region may become a suitable place for Chinese language education.

For this reason, Chinese language training needs to be considered a part of India’s strategic knowledge system. Indian universities need to incorporate Chinese language courses into their international relations, economics, and security studies. Think tanks, governmental organizations, business schools and engineering colleges need to encourage and facilitate analysts with expertise in working with Chinese-language materials. India also needs to build its own teaching aids and scholarly capability in order to ensure that Chinese language education is not reliant solely on foreign institutional structures.

Chinese language learning will not resolve the structural conflicts in the India-China bilateral relationship. Yet it will help in increasing the quality of analysis, reducing mutual misperception, building people-to-people contacts and opening new channels of dialogue. For India, Chinese language and China studies education is neither a way of being pro-China nor anti-China. It is about being better prepared to deal with one of the major actors in the Asian century.