Editor's Note:
Recently, there has been renewed international attention on the mechanism of Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral cooperation. Both Russia and India have indicated reviving the mechanism. What kind of evolution has this trilateral cooperation mechanism undergone over the past 20 years? Why is it particularly important to restore this cooperation mechanism now? The Global Times has invited experts from the three countries to share their views.
Xie Chao, an associate professor, Institute of International Studies, Fudan University
Restarting the RIC mechanism now holds particular importance. All three nations are key advocates for a genuinely multipolar international order. As major powers facing unilateral pressure from the US, they share both the incentive and the imperative to strengthen solidarity and cooperation to bolster global economic stability.
Shared vulnerabilities, particularly economic, necessitate decisive action. The West maintains pressure on Russia through sanctions tied to the Ukraine conflict.
Concurrently, the Trump administration had imposed a 25-percent tariff on Indian imports. Then it implemented an additional 25 percent over India's Russia oil purchases. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized, the pursuit of strategic autonomy and multipolarity is more relevant than ever.
The key to restarting RIC lies with India, presenting both the primary challenge and opportunity. An official Indian statement underscored caution, noting decisions on China-Russia coordination would be made in a mutually convenient manner.
RIC's future ultimately hinges on whether China and India can build sufficient mutual trust to extend cooperation beyond energy into broader domains. Given persistent tensions in China-India relations and India's close ties with the West, RIC's path forward will inevitably be cautious, pragmatic and fraught with challenges.
Nevertheless, signs of a thaw in China-India relations offer promise: Reciprocal visits by India's Defense and Foreign Ministers ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, the resumption of tourist visas for Chinese nationals, and the imminent restart of direct flights have helped establish a basic political environment conducive to reviving RIC. Russia has taken the lead in advocating for RIC's revival, with China expressing support and India showing tentative openness.
The three nations already engage through mature platforms like BRICS and the SCO. RIC's revival should focus on enhancing its institutional level. Leveraging the upcoming SCO Summit in Tianjin to convene an inaugural RIC Leaders' Summit would elevate the dialogue to the highest level, laying the political groundwork for structured consultations and practical cooperation in critical areas like energy coordination, climate policy and regional connectivity.
In essence, reviving RIC trilateral cooperation must transcend symbolism. For all three, it represents a strategic opportunity to unite against external sanctions pressure, reaffirm foreign policy autonomy and advance a multipolar order.
Timofei Bordachev, program director of the Valdai Discussion Club
The trilateral dialogue between China, India and Russia does not constrain the foreign policy autonomy of its participants. Instead, it can make a significant contribution to the global balance and to the fulfillment of their own interests, while also creating additional confidence among other countries in Asia and Eurasia.
The renewal of relations between China and India, which we are currently witnessing, is a positive signal. Indian media reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China soon. Russia is ready to make efforts to ensure that the RIC format also resumes its active work. What is most important for restoring such cooperation is a shared understanding among all participants that it serves their interests in the changing international environment.
The RIC ministers held their first meeting in 2005. Since then, meetings of the foreign ministers of the three countries have been held on a rotating basis. By 2019, there had been 16 regular meetings, while national security councils, financial intelligence units and other sectoral bodies of China, India and Russia were establishing dialogue with each other.
The subsequent slowdown in the RIC format was due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the border tensions between the world's two most populous countries in 2020. In October 2024, on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, a meeting took place between Modi and President Xi Jinping. Early this year, an agreement was reached to resume direct air travel between the two countries. This was an important positive development and opens the door to raising the question of fully resuming cooperation within the RIC group, especially as the international situation is conducive to this. The world needs a point of balance.
The entire world is now witnessing serious shifts in US foreign policy, uncertainty in Europe and crisis in the Middle East. China, India and Russia each pursue their policies on these issues based on their national interests. But they are equally interested in ensuring that the global situation does not spiral out of control and remains under the watch of the most responsible states.
The most likely task for the RIC at the present stage is to jointly articulate what is equally important to all three countries - regardless of short-term political disagreements which are always present in international relations. It is hard to imagine who, besides these three states, could do this better right now.
Himadrish Suwan, chairman of the Confederation of Young Leaders of India and the director general of the Confederation of Indian Universities
In an evolving global order marked by geopolitical realignments and increasing strategic competition, the RIC trilateral framework has re-emerged as a platform of profound significance.
The renewed interest in RIC is not merely symbolic - it is strategic. As global fault lines deepen, particularly between the West and the emerging powers of the East, RIC provides a rare space for open, equal and constructive engagement.
Importantly, RIC is not about choosing sides. It is about fostering dialogue where interests converge. Whether on climate action, regional connectivity, counterterrorism or global governance reforms, RIC can serve as a catalyst for consensus-building. The platform also enables India to assert its strategic autonomy - engaging with partners on all sides while firmly upholding its national interests.
Recent remarks by Indian Ambassador to the UK Vikram Doraiswami underscore this approach. He rightly emphasized the reasonableness of India coordinating with both Russia and China on common security interests. It reflects a pragmatic understanding that in today's interconnected world, dialogue is not a luxury but a necessity.
As the world grapples with conflict, energy transitions and supply chain disruptions, platforms like RIC must not be sidelined - they must be strengthened.
In essence, reviving the RIC mechanism is not about nostalgia; it is about necessity. It is about acknowledging that peace, stability and development in Eurasia and beyond require dialogue among equals.
India, China and Russia - three civilizational powers - must now collaborate not only for regional stability, but for shaping a more peaceful, just and equitable world. The stakes are high, and the time is now.
The RIC platform is not just a diplomatic mechanism; it is a call to build the kind of world our generation, and generations to come, could be proud of.
