S.D. Muni is a senior researcher of Asian studies at NUS, Singapore. He was the Director Research (International) at ORF (2006-07) and was the Indian ambassador to Laos.
India and China have emerged as two of the most critical players in Asia as well as on the world stage. Their mutual engagement during the coming decades will significantly influence the defining of strategic economic relations in Asia and beyond. While China has been accepted as an observer in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, India has also made a place for itself in the East Asia Summit and the Shanghai Cooperation organization. Both India and China have issues of common concern in world politics related to energy security, climate change, terrorism and global financial instability.