Annie Gowen Simon Denyer The Washington Post

Nothing like this has happened in human history. A combination of cultural preferences, government decree and modern medical technology in the world's two largest countries has created a gender imbalance on a continental scale. Men outnumber women by 70 million in China and India.

For weeks, China's Foreign Ministry had been vehement in its denunciations of India and insistence that New Delhi unconditionally withdraw troops that had trespassed into Chinese territory. Don't underestimate us, China repeatedly insisted, we are prepared for military conflict if need be.

India and China have withdrawn troops from a disputed Himalayan region on the border with China, foreign ministries from the two countries announced Monday, defusing a tense standoff that had threatened to provoke armed conflict between the nuclear-armed Asian rivals.

As nuclear posturing between North Korea and the United States rivets the world, a quieter conflict between India and China is playing out on a remote Himalayan ridge - with stakes just as high.

As the United States pulls back from its commitment to fight climate change, the world's two other biggest polluters - India and China - are sounding the alarm. But neither country is in a position to fill the void left by American leadership, or to foot the bill.

Nothing like this has happened in human history. A combination of cultural preferences, government decree and modern medical technology in the world's two largest countries has created a gender imbalance on a continental scale. Men outnumber women by 70 million in China and India.

For weeks, China's Foreign Ministry had been vehement in its denunciations of India and insistence that New Delhi unconditionally withdraw troops that had trespassed into Chinese territory. Don't underestimate us, China repeatedly insisted, we are prepared for military conflict if need be.

India and China have withdrawn troops from a disputed Himalayan region on the border with China, foreign ministries from the two countries announced Monday, defusing a tense standoff that had threatened to provoke armed conflict between the nuclear-armed Asian rivals.

As nuclear posturing between North Korea and the United States rivets the world, a quieter conflict between India and China is playing out on a remote Himalayan ridge - with stakes just as high.

As the United States pulls back from its commitment to fight climate change, the world's two other biggest polluters - India and China - are sounding the alarm. But neither country is in a position to fill the void left by American leadership, or to foot the bill.