Unlike in the past, China’s interests and strategies toward Indian Northeast and Southeast Asia are becoming more comprehensive and complex in nature. While China viewed these two regions from minimalist foreign and security perspectives earlier, it is expanding these interests and strategies to include maximalist goals and non-traditional security aspects. Triggers for this change in China’s stance are located in three decades of reform and opening up policies, enhancing comprehensive national strength of the country as a part of its big power ambitions, urge for expanding relations from the previous bilateral to multilateral networks, and the like.  

While there are several nuances and mixed outcomes on several specific issues related to Indian Northeast and Southeast Asia, , it can be argued that China’s interests and strategies toward these two regions are expanding. Another caveat is that due to the diversified nature of the two regions, broader aspects of China’s interests and strategies are considered in this paper.