What Indian election holds for China

China has declared 2014 as the "Year of China-India Friendly Exchanges". Important visits at the senior level have taken place between the two sides in the past few months and more significant visits are scheduled for the rest of the year.

In line with the friendly theme for the year, Chinese State Councilor and top diplomat Yang Jiechi visited India in February to take part in the Special Representatives' Talks. During the visit, he also held discussions with Prime Minister Singh and other top leaders, including National Security Adviser Shivsankar Menon, and attended the ceremony to launch the Year of China-India Friendly Exchanges, where India's Vice-President Hamid Ansari, too, was present. And in January, Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao participated in a program organized by India's Ambassador to China Ashok Kantha in Beijing to mark the 65th Republic Day of India.

Also, the 6th India-China Defense and Security Dialogue, co-chaired by India's Defense Secretary R.K. Mathur and Deputy Chief of General Staff of the PLA Wang Guanzhong, was held in New Delhi in February, and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan is scheduled to visit India soon.

Besides, Beijing has invited India's vice-president to visit China sometime later this year and, if some Indian media outlets are to be believed, President Xi Jinping is likely to visit India before the year ends.

Despite 2014 being an election year in India, it has been business as usual for Sino-Indian relations. This has set the stage for the new dispensation in New Delhi to strengthen bilateral relations. A stable government will be emboldened to be more purposive and mindful of its policies and programs with a long-term perspective.

However, the leaderships of the two countries still face some serious challenges when it comes to bilateral relations: trust deficit and security dilemma - and how to overcome them. So diplomats, bureaucrats, and business and corporate leaders of the two countries have to work very hard to identify and synergize the complementarities of the two economies for a win-win situation for the mutual benefit.

The author is a senior fellow with the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. The views in the article are personal.