Perceptions, Positions and Realities in India–China Relations: A Zero-sum Game of Repeated Distrust

India–China relations are shaped by cultural legacies, historical perceptions, border positions, and contemporary realities that have fostered a sense of uncertainty and deep mistrust for the last seven decades and beyond. The dilemma, rooted in the question of greatness or cultural superiority, extends into border disputes and subsequently to broader geopolitical calculus and games in the context of Asia’s rise. These narratives are characterised by distrust, and hence, bilateral interactions, especially on the border, are played out on the logic of a zero-sum game. The insights of Prisoner’s Dilemma (PD) theory, through a standard four-by-four payoff matrix, are used to capture the nuances of this erratic and zero-sum pattern in India–China relations. We argue that the PD is internalised in India–China behaviour, starting from cultural and historical perceptions to border disputes and overlapping into contemporary geopolitical dynamics of competition and rivalry. This explains why India–China relations remain unresolved. We also argue that the lingering tensions between India and China are rooted in differing perceptions and positions, which compel them to choose a dominant strategy based on individual rationality instead of a Pareto-optimal outcome based on collective rationality.