China and India are both frequently cited as rising states in the international system, which have already gained considerable power and are projected to continue their ascents in the ranks of great powers for the foreseeable future. What does the simultaneous rise of China and India relative to the West, coupled with China’s prospective decline relative to India in the long term, mean for the Sino-Indian bilateral relationship, the Asia-Pacific region, and the global international order? Sino-Indian relations have been subjected to very little inquiry using rigorous theory. This conference is designed to address the theoretical lacunae in the literature on China-India relations by bringing together leading international relations theorists and experts on Chinese and Indian foreign policy. In aggregation, the conference papers aim to advance novel explanations for empirical puzzles in China-India relations, generalize from these explanations to advance new developments in IR theory, and derive prescriptions and predictions for contemporary policy makers.
8:00-8:10am Opening remarks
- Kanti Bajpai, Wilmar Professor of Asian Studies and Director, Centre on Asia and Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore
- Brandon Yoder, Lecturer (Assistant Professor), College of Arts and Social Science, ANU, and Adjunct Research Fellow, Centre on Asia and Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore
8:00-10:00am: Cooperation, Coercion, and Rivalry
Moderator: Brandon Yoder, Australian National University
- Balancing, Threats & Wedges in International Political Economy: The Origins and Impact of the Sino-Indian Alliance at the WTO
Kristen Hopewell, University of British Columbia
- Sino-Indian Rivalry and Balance of Power Theory: Explaining India’s Underbalancing
TV Paul, McGill University
- The Status Dilemma in China-India Relations
Xiaoyu Pu, University of Nevada, Reno
- China-India Face-offs: How Does Reputation Matter?
Deepa Ollapally, George Washington University
- Explaining Chinese Military Coercion in Sino-Indian Border Disputes
Ketian Zhang, George Mason University
Discussants: Rohan Mukherjee (Yale-NUS College), Chin-Hao Huang (Yale-NUS College)
9:00-10:30pm: Norms, Ideas & Order I
Moderator: Kanti Bajpai, National University of Singapore
- Rising Powers and Normative Resistance: China, India and the Responsibility to Protect
Courtney Fung, University of Hong Kong
- Emerging Powers and Humanitarian Assistance: New Donors or Old Partners
Lina Gong, Nanyang Technological University
- Thin Air Coalition? India, China, and Climate Leadership
Marina Kaneti, National University of Singapore
Discussant: Steven Oliver (Yale NUS College)
10:30pm-12 midnight: Norms, Ideas & Order II
Moderator: Kanti Bajpai, National University of Singapore
- Shadow Realism: The India-China Strategic Rivalry
Rajesh Basrur, Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
- A Bounded Rivalry? Consociational Security and India-China Relations
Amitav Acharya, American University
- Time to Rise? On the Temporality of China’s and India’s Emergence as Great Powers
Peter Marcus Kristensen, University of Copenhagen
Discussant: Yuen Foong Khong (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS)