BUSINESS
China | Xi Jinping rules the roost but the path ahead is fraught
If Xi Jinping believes he can avoid the mistakes that Mao Zedong made when he centralised power at the expense of collective leadership, it is none too clear, why
WORLD
CPC Congress | Party wants Chinese to strive for global hegemony
Expect more rhetoric that confirms a sense of Chinese exceptionalism, and plays up the CPC’s leadership role in guiding China towards its supposed destiny at the top of the global power hierarchy
BUSINESS
What national interests has India achieved by abstaining at UNHRC vote on Xinjiang?
The lack of a clear, consistent policy on China is not just a drag on India’s ability to shape international narratives on that country, but provides wings to China’s ability to promote its own narratives of what happened, and is happening at the LAC
BUSINESS
Samarkand SCO | Significance of the Modi-Xi non-meeting
If India chose not to request a meeting, or turned down a request for one with Xi Jinping, then this is a fairly explicit declaration of the direction of India’s relationship with China given that there is an extremely high likelihood Xi will return to power for a third term as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China in October
WORLD
Lessons for India from Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit
Speculation whether China would attack Taiwan sidesteps the question of what India’s own thinking is about security issues beyond its immediate neighbourhood, and especially its plans and options if China were indeed to attack Taiwan
BUSINESS
Wang Yi In India | No substantial outcome, but China has exploited the visit to its advantage
The Indian government has allowed the Chinese envoy to grandstand and sell China’s narratives to the rest of the world which are all the more effective for it having come in India, ostensibly an adversarial forum
BUSINESS
Wang Yi in India: Whither India’s muscular foreign policy?
New Delhi continues to under-utilise the opportunity to revise and reset its China policy that the Chinese transgressions in eastern Ladakh provided nearly two years ago. Instead of reacting directly and punitively, politically and militarily, the Indian government has kept its sharpest responses limited to the economic front
POLITICS
Sino-Russia Ties: Intimacy can breed complications
Russian economic dependency might be a drag on China since it might not exactly be easy for Beijing to convert this to advantages elsewhere. Having refused so far to directly criticise Russia, China can find its space for manoeuvre limited by still greater expectations from Moscow
POLITICS
How Russia-Ukraine crisis works in China’s favour
Given China’s tendency to privilege naked self-interest over principles in its international affairs, seeking advantages from the crisis created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine comes naturally
BUSINESS
India must beware of China’s reassurances
Always expressing optimism about the India-China relationship no matter what the circumstances is something of a standard operating procedure for Chinese interlocutors
BUSINESS
India’s China policy in 2021 has been a failure
Instead of responding in kind to China’s actions since Galwan, the Indian government seems to have allowed itself to be taken in by Chinese propaganda and its sabre-rattling
POLITICS
India-China Ties | Is New Delhi finally calling out Beijing for its bad behaviour?
A major change in tone and tenor in New Delhi’s response to China’s activities across India’s borders is evident, especially if one compares the latest Ministry of External Affairs statement with one from just a year ago
BUSINESS
Does China really have the upper hand in Afghanistan?
No one should get carried away by China’s apparent victory by default in the Afghanistan context
POLITICS
Xi Jinping in Tibet — Part 2: Implications for India
China’s civilian infrastructure build-up in TAR or Xinjiang is almost always seen in India as being also of military use, as indeed they could be. But their other uses must not be ignored
WORLD
Xi Jinping in Tibet — Part 1: China’s quest for greater control
When it comes to development on the Tibetan plateau, Xi Jinping has ambitions to stand out from China’s previous leaders
WORLD
India’s vaccine diplomacy failure and its foreign policy implications
One can foresee a long period ahead in which Indian embassies will spend time recovering lost ground about being a reliable supplier of vaccines, and about public health and safety, to name just a few concerns — forget about being a rising power
BUSINESS
China’s vaccine diplomacy bears closer watching
Beijing’s insistence on China-made vaccines is a symptom of the simultaneously narrow worldview and siege mentality of the Communist Party of China
BUSINESS
India must no longer wait for China to change its behaviour
A firm, punitive Indian military response towards China for the events of 2020 is necessary to delay, if not reduce, the possibility that the Chinese will try anything new again at the LAC
BUSINESS
Foreign Affairs | Two missteps in Joe Biden’s China agenda that require repair
The incoming Joe Biden administration’s use of the expression ‘Asia-Pacific’ instead of ‘Indo-Pacific’ signals a lack of commitment to the initiatives and concerns of allies, such as India and Japan, despite Biden’s talk of taking them along
BUSINESS
LAC Stand-off | Let’s not talk to China for the sake of talking
Talks with China should be limited to and led by military commanders under political supervision with staff support from Indian foreign ministry officials, if necessary
WORLD
Needed: Clearer communication on the Galwan face-off
The government can do better in conveying its positions and against an adversary that has the well-oiled propaganda apparatus and diplomatic presence and resources across the world.
WORLD
A Chinese elephant in the India-Nepal room
To keep Nepal on its side is in India’s interests, especially in the face of a rising Chinese presence in South Asia. This presence is not just economic and military, but increasingly involves strong political commitment
