This session, featuring speakers Dr Ruan Zongze and Ambassador Shyam Saran, and chaired by Prof Kishore Mahbubani, looks at the contours of the China-India bilateral relationship in the context of new global challenges. These challenges include climate change mitigation, global terrorism in the aftermath of the rise of ISIS (Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant), and the South China Sea conflict. The global financial sector is also set to undergo a sea change. China and India are actively working together in establishing a new financial institution that would cater to developing countries -- the New Development Bank. China's Road and Belt Initiative may also change the trajectory of regional cooperation and trade within South and Southeast Asia.
The public session is part of the 5th Regional Security Roundtable. Held at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, the Roundtable brings together eminent scholars and policymakers from China and India to discuss the challenges and avenues of cooperation within the China-India bilateral relationship.
During the public session, Prof Mahbubani will also officially launch the book, China-India Relations: Cooperation and Conflict (London: Routledge, 2016), jointly edited by Professors Kanti Bajpai, Jing Huang and Kishore Mahbubani. The book features chapters by renowned scholars from China, India and Singapore that discuss potential avenues for cooperation within the fields of economics, environment and energy, and water. This book has been produced as part of the School’s on-going China-India Project, with funding from the Ministry of Education, Republic of Singapore.