China-India Brief #32

Guest Column

China and India: Xi and Modi

By Kanti Prasad Bajpai

Narendra Modi’s coming to power in India presages the possibility of a new phase in China-India relations. And this despite the fact that he is seen as hypernationalistic and has made some strong statements during the election campaign on Chinese attitudes towards Arunachal Pradesh. Beijing certainly responded to his victory with alacrity. Premier Li Keqiang spoke to Modi on the telephone personally to congratulate him. Modi responded with some warm statements about China-India relations and invited Xi Jinping to visit India in September 2014. The Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi then visited India in early June. Most recently, Xi met Modi at the BRICS Summit in Brazil. The Summit was fairly momentous in respect particularly of an agreement to set up the New Development Bank with an endowment eventually of US$ 100 billion. The headquarters of the Bank are to be in Shanghai and the first head of the bank, for a period of five years, will be from India.

This positive synopsis of China-India relations is important. The two countries have got off to a good start with the new government assuming power in New Delhi. There is a good chance that the two leaders will overlap for many years – Xi has ten years in power since taking over; and Modi could well win a second five year term.

Having said that, there are troubling signs. India continues to accuse China of straying into its side of the Line of Actual Control. China has once again insisted that it has claim to Arunachal Pradesh, with New Delhi once again affirming that whatever Beijing’s claims, it sticks by its version of the territorial dispute. In his meeting with Xi, Modi made sure that he underlined the importance of a quick settlement of the border and stability along the LAC. Modi also emphasized the need for a more equitable trade relationship. Xi has conceded that trade should be more equal and has indicated that trade in services could help bridge the gap. Fundamentally, though, China continues to insist that India must get its house in order economically.

The BRICS summit had positive and less positive moments for China-India. On the positive side, Modi once again welcomed Chinese investment in India and China’s participation in industrial parks in India. China seems to be more interested in Indian services providers coming to China. Xi invited India to attend the APEC meetings, which is symbolically important since India has been frozen out of the organization thus far. Xi also said that India should play a bigger role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – India of course is angling for full membership. The Summit led to a deal on the New Development Bank after some hard negotiation over the past couple of years. Modi eventually put his weight behind the deal to have the Bank located in Shanghai and for all five member states to initially contribute the same amount (US$ 10 billion), with China gradually becoming the largest contributor.

The less positive moments related to the Bank as well. While there was agreement on it in the end, it came in the final session of the meeting, indicating that India (and Brazil), who were uneasy at China’s dominance of the proposed Bank, held out for a long time. India appears to have held out also on the headquarters being in Shanghai. Given China’s power, this was a foregone conclusion, and New Delhi missed an opportunity to be more gracious on both issues. It is fair to say too that there were no great signs of personal chemistry between Xi and Modi. Modi is of course new to the big diplomatic stage. Yet for all the talk of China-India bonhomie in the wake of Modi’s ascent to power, the face to face interaction lacked warmth and spark. The bilateral meeting between the two leaders went on much longer than originally scheduled, which is a good thing, but it has yielded little – at least from what we know so far.

Well begun is half done, it is said. The two leaders got off to a correct, dignified, and accommodative start – given the deal on the New Development Bank in particular – and there is a base to build on. The world will be watching carefully to see how things develop in the coming months. Xi is due in India in September, and Modi is due in Washington also in September. It will be interesting to see if the China-India meeting happens before the India-US meeting. The BRICS deal on the Bank has been inked. Once again, there will be questions on whether or not it will take off and how well China and India work within the Bank.  New Delhi and others will be waiting to see if China pushes India’s case in APEC and the SCO. Beijing and the world will wonder if Modi will deliver on Chinese participation in India’s infrastructure projects and China will set up factories in India’s proposed industrial parks. Then there is always the border issue. China seems to have accepted that a settlement must come sooner rather than later, but we will have to see what this actually means in the coming months in the bilateral negotiations, whether or not there is any new thinking on the Chinese side in particular.

Modi represented India adequately at the BRICS Summit and got a chance to size up Xi Jinping. Likewise, the Chinese leader got a better sense of the Indian leader and how he thinks. Both are strong, strategic-minded, and nationalistic leaders. They want to consolidate their power at home and to ensure that the external environment is conducive to internal stability and development. To that extent, it is in their interest to work well with each other since the two countries can do serious harm to the other’s interests. The next year or so will give us a much clearer idea of the direction that China-India relations will take.

Kanti Bajpai is Vice-Dean for Research at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore.

Guest Column

In China

By Varigonda Kesava Chandra

In May 2014, I had the opportunity, as a Research Associate working on the China-India project at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, to accompany Professors Huang Jing and Kanti Bajpai on a field trip to China. I had been given permission to extend the three-day official trip into a ten day holiday, during which time I had the opportunity to visit Chengdu, Kunming, and Beijing. This is my first trip to China, and the following is an account of an Indian’s first impressions of that country.

Having lived in Kuala Lumpur since I was seven, and in Singapore from the time I was seventeen, I had, it would seem, lived among the Chinese diaspora for most of my life. I could, quite easily, differentiate between spoken Mandarin and Cantonese; I had been to the old Chinese temples in Miri, Penang, Ipoh, KL, and Singapore; and being a rather frequent visitor to the rows of Chinese vegetarian stalls in Bugis, I could vouch for the best Chinese vegetarian restaurant in Singapore. My exposure to Chinese culture however has, admittedly, been limited to that developed by the diaspora in their adopted Southeast Asian homeland. However, having seemingly lived side-by-side the Chinese for so long, I may have developed a misplaced sense of familiarity that perhaps precluded any serious attempt to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese society and culture.

I had hoped to utilise this trip to rectify my self-inflicted misfortune. I boarded the plane to Chengdu armed with a compendium of short stories by the greatest modern Chinese writer, Lu Xun; and a book of poems by the Tang Dynasty Triumvirate, Wang Wei, Li Bai and Du Fu, translated into the English by, fittingly enough, another Indian, Vikram Seth.

The Chinese growth story being an all-too-familiar refrain, I had expected major Chinese cities to possess all the standard trappings of modernity that any first world city would boast; I was therefore not surprised by the skyscrapers and the rows of shopping malls in Beijing’s Wangfujing Street, although I had not expected to see this in Chengdu, which I presumed to be a relatively second-tier city. The Lu Xun story I had been reading, detailing the travails of a rural peasant family, seemed entirely out of place in my present surroundings.

That China today could accommodate not just modernity, but also irony, was demonstrated by the giant Mao statue towering over Chengdu’s Tianfu Square, surrounded on all sides by skyscrapers. What however impressed me was the inclusiveness of China’s modernity. Women in particular seemed able to navigate modernity with far greater freedom and individuality than in India. They were very much part of the public sphere; they travelled alone in buses, metros and on the sidewalks. By stark contrast, when I was in Delhi in January of 2013, the mere sight of a woman traveling in the Delhi Metro was a great rarity. While it certainly is premature to claim gender equality (particularly in the face of rampant sex-selective abortion), it would still be interesting to understand how the stark shift in attitudes towards women’s place in society, from the days of foot-binding and concubines to the far more liberal present (certainly much more than what I had observed in India, or Indonesia) was achieved. Had it something to do with Mao’s proclamation of women ‘holding half the sky’, or had the sudden shifts in culture from the Cultural Revolution towards a rapid modernisation and globalisation rendered the ancient ordering of society obsolete? Judging from the ubiquitous closed-circuit cameras in neighbourhoods throughout Beijing – even in the poorer, nondescript ones I had managed to stumble into, efficient law-enforcement (which itself, admittedly, could be an outcome of increased state-surveillance) has made Beijing a much safer city.

In Kumning, capital of the remote Yunnan province, we visited the Institute of South Asian Studies. One topic that came up during discussions was the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) cooperation project, which, if realised, would place this province, along with India’s Northeast region, at the forefront of the India-China-Southeast Asia joint development plan. I had travelled through Assam, the largest of India’s Northeastern states, and one that constantly is riven by clashes between its various ethnic and tribal groups, and through Myanmar, with its own dismal record of treatment towards ethnic minorities. I was pleasantly surprised therefore to see several researchers belonging to Yunnan’s minority groups among those we had interacted with at the academic institute. While I cannot speak for the rest of the city’s socio-economic sectors, I am not certain I would have witnessed a similar diversity within, say, the premier academic institutes of Assam.

The infrastructure of modernity can be rather monotonous however. Tolstoy might well have today written, “All modern cities are alike in their modernity; their distinctiveness arises from what still remains of their culture.” As an Indian traveller in China, I, of course, carried my own cultural baggage. My hometown in Southern India would have, two thousand years ago, been under the aegis of the capital city of Amaravati, which at the time was among the most important centres of Buddhism in India (like Buddhism itself, only remnants of that once-prosperous city remains). During what therefore could be described, if vanity and self-aggrandisement permits, as a ‘Journey to the East’ for the traveller from erstwhile Amaravati, I saw the Buddha carved across the slopes of Leshan; Manjushri at the Wenshu Monastery in Chengdu; Dipankara, Sakyamuni and Maitreya at the Yonghegong Tibetan Lamasery in Beijing; Vairochana atop the hill overlooking the Forbidden Palace; the awe-inspiring twelve-headed statue of the Boddhisattva Guanyin overlooking the Summer Palace; and perhaps my favourite, the Temple of Heaven, whose deceptively simple architecture and the absence of any idols obscured the complication of worshiping the Heaven unseen.

“The monk from Shu with his green lute-case walked
Westward down Emei Shan, and at the sound
Of the first notes he strummed for me I heard
A thousand valleys’ rustling pines resound”
– Li Bai (Trans. Vikram Seth).

I had, unfortunately, read this poem too late, for by then I had already left Chengdu without having climbed the Emei Mountain. That disappointment was somewhat assuaged at the shores of the beautiful Weiming Lake, within the Peking University campus, where, for nearly an hour, I had the privilege of listening to an impromptu flute performance by one of the students.

I have not particularly mentioned the genuine friendliness I had felt from the Chinese people every day during the trip. Not for a moment have I felt an intruder in that country, and despite the obvious distance in communication, never had I felt alienated. In Beijing, I had stayed within one of the congested alleyways of the Dazhalan Hutong, an older part of the city, in a hostel that was, before the Communist takeover, a high-class brothel. This information was supplied by my roommate, who happened to be from Inner Mongolia, spoke excellent English, had just encountered his first Indian (me), and was quick to inform me that ‘3 Idiots’ was one of his favourite films. Had I travelled here fifty years ago, I would perhaps have had the same conversation – this time about ‘Awara’. India’s trade deficit with China notwithstanding, Bollywood might perhaps have been the country’s most valuable export.

I shall end with what perhaps is my favourite episode of the trip. I was offered a seat beside an elderly, yet rather erudite, homeless man on the only bench that happened to have a space to sit, on a particularly hot day within the gardens of the Temple of Heaven. After some futile attempts at communication through hand-signage, he took out a little blank sheet of paper and a pen, and scribbled something on it in the Chinese script, and passed it over to me, insisting I write something too. I then turned to the other side of the sheet, wrote my name in the Telugu script, and passed it back to him. Mutually satisfied, we quietly resumed our moment of relaxation.

Varigonda Kesava Chandra is a Research Associate at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy or the National University of Singapore.

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News Reports

Bilateral relations

Modi-Xi meet to open new chapter in ties
The Hindu, July 14
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping along the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Brazil will provide the two leaders the opportunity to lay the framework for a new chapter in bilateral ties. With the two leaders known in their respective countries for their strong leadership styles, the meeting, which will take place on Tuesday (Monday evening in Brazil), has been accorded more than usual importance: the talks, according to officials on both sides, will also be unusually substantive for an interaction taking place on the sidelines of a multilateral summit. Both leaders are expected to discuss a wide range of strategic and economic issues, as well as common concerns on multilateral matters such as the situation in Afghanistan and the imminent withdrawal of U.S. forces. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong told press persons that he expected the Modi-Xi meeting to “have implications for advancing bilateral relations and further promote cooperation between the two countries”.

Xi says China, India partners not rivals
Global Times, July 15
Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China and India are strategic partners rather than rivals. “Judging from either bilateral, regional or global perspective, China and India are long-lasting strategic and cooperative partners, rather than rivals,” said Xi. Xi made the remarks at a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of their joint attendance at a summit of BRICS countries, to be held in Brazil. China and India, two largest developing countries and emerging market economies, are striving for national rejuvenation, said Xi, adding that both of them treasure peace and development. As two important poles of the world, China and India share many strategic converging points, said Xi. “If the two countries speak in one voice, the whole world will attentively listen; if the two countries join hand in hand, the whole world will closely watch,” said the Chinese president.

Chinese President urges early negotiated solution to border issues with India
Global Times, July 15
Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to build strong ties with India, calling for negotiated solutions to the border issues between the two neighbors at an early date. Xi made the remarks at a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of their joint attendance at a summit of BRICS countries. During their talks, Xi invited Modi to visit China at an early date. He said the two countries should converge development strategies, build closer development partnership and expand friendly exchanges in the fields of culture, education, religious affairs and youth.Xi urged the two countries to launch a batch of exemplary projects in industrial investment and infrastructure building like railway construction, and expand cooperation in such fields as service trade, investment and tourism, so as to gradually realize a generally-balanced and sustainable bilateral trade.

China invites Modi for APEC Summit but rivalry simmers
Reuters, July 15
Chinese President Xi Jinping invited India to attend a summit of the APEC trade group in November, sending a message of cooperation during the first meeting between the new leaders of the world’s most populous countries. But behind the smiles at Xi’s 80-minute meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Brazil, India’s rivalry with its powerful neighbour bubbled up as the two nations argued over who would host the headquarters of a proposed BRICS joint development bank. Xi and Modi met soon after their arrival at a summit of the BRICS group of emerging powers. Xi said the two countries should join hands in setting global rules and suggested he attend the November 2014 meeting of the 21-nation APEC in Beijing, as well as take part in Chinese-led regional initiatives.

2 incursions by China in 3 days even as Modi, Xi talk
The Times of India, July 17
At a time when India and China are reaching out to settle the boundary dispute, two incursions by the People’s Liberation Army of China have been reported in the Ladakh sector in the past three days. The incursion attempts were reported in Demchok and Chumar areas of Ladakh sector in J&K. PLA soldiers were, however, promptly pushed back into their territory by Indian security personnel. The incursion bids by the PLA came even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized on the need to find a solution to the boundary question during their meeting in Fortaleza in Brazil on Tuesday on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. The latest incident occurred in Charding Nilu Nullah Junction (CNNJ) in Demchok sector on Tuesday when PLA personnel entered the area on their vehicles in the wee hours claiming it to be Chinese territory, security establishment sources said. The PLA soldiers who wanted to have a round of the area were stopped by Indian Army and personnel of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), a force which guards the India-China border.

China distributes millions of controversial maps to troops, incorporating claim on Arunachal: Report
Times of India, July 18
China is distributing millions of controversial updated maps to its military in the first upgrade in 30 years, reportedly reinforcing its claims over Arunachal Pradesh. All major army units will receive new, more accurate maps in the near future, PLA Daily reported. The Lanzhou Military Command, one of seven PLA ground force commands, has updated more than 15 million maps for its troops, it said. China is distributing millions of controversial updated maps to its military in the first upgrade in 30 years, reportedly reinforcing its claims over Arunachal Pradesh. All major army units will receive new, more accurate maps in the near future, PLA Daily reported. The Lanzhou Military Command, one of seven PLA ground force commands, has updated more than 15 million maps for its troops, it said. Though the official media here has not published the maps being circulated in its military, it reportedly incorporated China’s claims over the disputed borders with India as well as South and East China Seas, which were hotly contested by several of China’s neighbours.

India puts conditions on China for better relations
Deccan Chronicle, July 20
In an important strategic move, India has directly linked trade and economic relations with China to the security scenario between the two nations, particularly incursions by Chinese forces and an early settlement to the border dispute. A background note on this issue prepared by the office of the national security adviser (NSA) for a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Brazil clearly spelt out that China needs to address India’s security concerns for better business and economic ties.

PM Modi, Xi struck rapport at BRICS summit
Hindustan Times, July 20
PM Modi and President Xi Jinping discussed various issues ranging from their border dispute to economic cooperation at the BRICS Summit in Brazil. Analysts say Xi wooed Modi with the peace-through-development approach by offering to make India a founding member of the $50-billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, mostly funded by China. The bank is seen a plan to counter the Asian Development Bank, which is dominated by the US and Japan. The Chinese feel countries in Asia need more lending agencies to fund their growing infrastructure needs. Xi also invited India to attend the APEC summit in November, sending a message of cooperation during the first meeting between the new leaders of the world’s most populous countries.

China, India seek to develop Military Cooperation
Press TV, July 21
Senior Chinese and Indian military officials have underlined the need for the development of bilateral military cooperation. During a meeting in Beijing on Thursday, General Bikram Singh, the head of India’s army, and Fan Changlong, the vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, explored ways to further military ties. “Our common interests far outweigh our differences,” Fan told Singh. “Both countries have sufficient wisdom and capability to deal with historical problems.” Singh also called on the two countries to tap into their potentialities to boost communication and interaction between the two militaries with the aim of ensuring peace and tranquility in border areas.

News Reports

China and India in the Regions

BRICS bank tops Modi’s agenda
The Hindu, July 13
The sixth BRICS summit will be Prime Minister Modi’s first multilateral summit, giving him a chance to meet world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The meeting of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leaders will be held on July 15, when they are expected to sign important economic agreements on the BRICS bank as well as release the Fortaleza Declaration. While the BRICS grouping, a term coined in a Goldman Sachs report, is seen as an economic grouping, this meeting is expected to send out a strong message of political unity as well. The leaders will sign documents to create a development bank to finance infrastructure and sustainability projects and establish a reserve fund to assist countries of the bloc in coping with balance-of-payments eventualities, says a note from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

WTO rules against US in trade spat with China and India
BBC Online, July 14
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has found the United States violated global trade rules when it imposed tariffs on products from China and India. In response to a 2012 complaint, the WTO said the US improperly imposed tariffs on Chinese steel and solar panels. In a separate ruling, it said the US must change the way it imposes tariffs on India steel products. The US is embroiled in several trade spats with China and India.

India urbanising, but slowly, UN numbers show
The Hindu, July 15
Despite a view that India is rapidly urbanising, it will have just half of its population in cities even in 2050, new UN projections show. In 2050, India will be one of the least urbanised major countries, with Sri Lanka, Uganda, Cambodia, Nepal, Kenya and Ethiopia for company, while China will be 76% urban. In 2050, the world will have 9.55 billion people and India with 1.62 billion people will be the most populous country in the world, the numbers show, its population still growing. China, on the other hand, will have hit its peak of 1.45 billion in 2030 and have declined to 1.38 billion people by 2050. Undoubtedly, India is urbanising, the numbers show; it will add 400 million urban residents between now and 2050, and will account for a third of all urban growth with China and Nigeria. However, the pace is not as fast as had been earlier imagined.

Chinese President Arrives in Brazil for BRICS Summit
People’s Daily, July 15
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Fortaleza for a summit of the BRICS countries. The sixth summit of the BRICS, an emerging-economy group consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, would be held in Brazil from July 15 to 16. Upon arrival, Xi noted that BRICS is an important force in international relations and an important constructor of the international system, adding that China firmly supports and actively participates in cooperation among BRICS countries. Currently, world economic recovery is still facing many complex factors, said Xi. “I look forward to having an in-depth discussion on cooperation with leaders of other BRICS countries, reach further consensus and plan for future development so as to provide more positive energy for pushing forward world economy growth, improving global economic governance and promoting world peace and development,” he said.

India tops list of largest share of extreme poor people in the world: UN
Global Times, July 16
India tops the list of countries with the largest share of global extreme poor, taking up over 30 percent of the global extreme poor, said a U.N. report published by the Indian government. The overwhelming majority of people living on less than $1.25 a day belong to Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with one third, or 32.9 percent of the world’s 1.2 billion extreme poor living in India alone in 2010, said the report. India had the highest number of under-five deaths in the world in 2012, with 1.4 million children dying before reaching their fifth birthday, while south Asia accounted for 2.1 million of the 6.6 million deaths in children under five worldwide, the report which tracks progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) said. China, which has made rapid strides in reducing poverty, follows India in housing the extreme poor global population and was home to 13 percent of them in 2010, followed by Nigeria at 9 percent and Bangladesh at 5 percent, it said.

BRICS to Establish Development Bank, Reserve Arrangement
People’s Daily, July 16
The emerging-market bloc of BRICS on Tuesday announced plans to establish a development bank and a contingent reserve arrangement (CRA). The five members of the group — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — laid out the designs of the New Development Bank (NDB) and the CRA in a declaration released following their sixth summit in this Brazilian city. The NDB, to be headquartered in Shanghai, will have an initial authorized capital of 100 billion U.S. dollars, and its initial subscribed capital of 50 billion dollars will be equally shared among founding members, according to the Fortaleza Declaration. The five countries decided that the first chair of the Board of Governors shall be from Russia, the first chair of the Board of Directors from Brazil, and the first president of the bank from India. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the summit along with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Jacob Zuma.

BRICS Development Bank launched, first president to be from India
The Times of India, July 16
Leaders of the BRICS group of emerging powers on Tuesday created a Shanghai-based development bank and a reserve fund seen as counterweights to Western-led financial institutions. The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa agreed to launch the institutions to finance infrastructure projects and head off future economic crises. The development bank will have initial capital of $50 billion that could rise to $100 billion, funded equally by each nation. To ease worries of any nation getting more power than the other, BRICS leaders agreed to put the bank’s headquarters in Shanghai. The first president will be Indian while the first board chair will hail from Brazil.

Xi’s tour of Latin America offers vital regional trade cooperation
People’s Daily, July 16
Chinese President Xi Jinping is paying a visit to Latin America, his second tour to the region since he took office last year. The top leader’s schedule includes attending the sixth BRICS summit and the China-Latin America and the Caribbean Summit in Brazil and visiting Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba. China is Latin America’s third largest trading partner, and Latin America is the seventh largest trading partner to China. A debate over China being a threat or a partner has been raised in Latin America due to China’s unique political structure, extraordinarily rapid economic growth, the current imbalance in the Sino-Latin American relationship, and Latin America’s special geopolitical position. This means complex interests are involved in the bilateral relationship between China and Latin America.

China, Cuba back India for food procurement subsidies at WTO
The Hindu, July 16
India, China and Cuba have joined hands at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to demand inclusion of subsidies for food procurement and food-aid programmes in the list of permissible incentives. New Delhi has refused to give its consent to a trade facilitation protocol being pushed by several developed WTO members, such as the US, Australia and the EU, till there is a permanent solution on public stockholding. In an informal meeting of the WTO’s agriculture panel this week in Geneva, the three countries said a proposal by the G-33 developing countries in November 2012 should be the permanent solution, a Government official told BusinessLine. The proposal calls for an amendment to the Agriculture Agreement of the WTO so that price support for public procurement and food aid in developing countries — to benefit low-income farmers or those who lack resources — is considered ‘Green Box’ and allowed without limits.

India has third highest number HIV-infected people globally
Global Times, July 17
About 2.1 million Indian people are infected with the HIV disease, the third highest number in the world, according to a UN report. The UNAIDS report said that after sub-Saharan Africa, the largest number of people living with HIV are in Asia and the Pacific. There were an estimated 4.8 million people living with HIV in this region in 2013. China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam account for more than 90 percent of the people living with HIV in the region.”India has the third largest number of people living with HIV in the world – 2.1 million at the end of 2013 – and accounts for about four out of 10 people living with HIV in the region,” the report said.

Xi meets S. African and Russian Presidents, Indian PM
People’s Daily, July 17
Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with South African President Jacob Zuma, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Fortaleza, Brazil. In talks with Zuma, Xi said that planned cooperation will strengthen the strategic partnership. Zuma expressed a welcoming attitude toward participation of Chinese companies in the development of South Africa. While meeting with the Indian Prime Minister, President Xi pledged to promote China-India relations to a higher level, and to safeguard peace and stability. Modi expressed that both sides need to promote mutual understanding, and face global challenges together. While meeting with Vladimir Putin, President Xi said more cooperation should be conducted in terms of military and security. The two leaders also exchanged opinions on issues related to Syria and Afghanistan.

Cyberspace Sovereignty ‘Should Be Respected’
People’s Daily, July 18
President Xi Jinping called for respect of all countries’ cyberspace sovereignty, telling the Brazilian congress that “there are no double standards in the information sector, and every country has the right to preserve its own information security”. Xi’s remarks were made amid continuing revelations about extensive spying by the United States on other countries, including China, Brazil and Russia, and even some US allies. In the just-concluded BRICS summit of leaders from Brazil, Russia,India, China and South Africa, a joint declaration issued on Tuesday said the five countries agreed that “it is necessary to preserve information and communication technologies, particularly the Internet, as an instrument of peace and development and to prevent its use as a weapon.”

Myanmar cooperating with China, India to preserve Northern areas
Eleven Myanmar, July 18
Myanmar has been collaborating with China and India to safeguard wildlife and forests along the northern border, according to Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry. A regional framework workshop on the Brahmaputra-Salween (Thanlwin) landscape conservation project was held in the last week of June in Nay Pyi Taw. It was organised by the ministry and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, an intergovernmental body set up to conserve the Himalayan area.

In science, India invests far less than China, US, South Korea
The Times of India, July 19
A report by a thinktank shows India’s investment in science has lagged behind that of neighbouring China, the US and South Korea, resulting in these countries staying ahead when it comes to research. While India invested 0.88 per cent of its GDP in science research, the US invested 7-8 per cent, and South Korea 3-4 per cent. The Observer Research Foundation (ORF) report titled “Whither Science Education in Indian Colleges?” shows that India, with one of the lowest R&D spend-to-GDP ratios, is also expending resources on areas that have a weak connection to industry, and thereby missing out on opportunities for economic growth. “More than a quarter of (India’s) R&D investment goes towards basic research, against 5 per cent in China and 17 per cent in the United States,” the report states.

Northeast trade corridor: Planners seek feedback
The Times of India, July 19
As the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC) concept under India’s Look East Policy is being actively pursued, policymakers have embarked on a mission to know the pulse of the stakeholders from the northeast as the region’s geography is suitable to translate the idea into reality. Given the region’s ethnic diversity and ecological richness along with relative economic backwardness, questions are being raised by stakeholders on the impact on people, culture and biodiversity once Northeast’s borders are opened up for trade under BCIM-EC. The proposed establishment of BCIM-EC, linking Kolkata in India to Kunming in China through Bangladesh and Myanmar, is envisaged to bring together the four countries with 40% of world population, 13% of world GDP and 10% of surface area for open trade and economic integration.

China offers $20bn for LatAm projects
Gulf Times, July 20
Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed to create a $20bn fund to finance infrastructure projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. The fund was announced at the end of a summit hosted by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff that marked the launch of the China-Latin America-Caribbean Forum on Thursday. “They proposed to do it immediately so that it can be ready next year. This money is an exclusively Chinese proposal,” Rousseff told reporters in Brasilia, adding that the fund would have initial capital of $10bn. Xi also offered to extend a credit line of up to $10bn to nations of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) via the Bank of China. In addition, a Chinese-Latin American co-operation fund of $5bn would be launched for investments in areas that have yet to be decided. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said foreign ministers of the new forum would meet in China next year to determine the mechanism to access the infrastructure fund. Less noticed than the BRICS Summit, but equally or more important in the long run, was that he held talks with Latin American leaders that may lead to the first summit of China with members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) – a group that excludes the US – later this year in Beijing.

China’s special envoy lauds ISI’s fight against terrorism
Dawn, July 22
China’s newly appointed special envoy for Afghanistan Sun Yuxi on Monday dismissed Indian and Afghan concerns about Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and backed its role in fighting terrorism, Indian newspapers reports from Beijing have said. The Hindu said Mr Sun rejected Indian suggestions that elements in the ISI were fanning a terror campaign in Afghanistan. Instead, he said the ISI “has been effective in fighting against terrorism”. Mr Sun, a former ambassador to Afghanistan and India who was appointed as special envoy last week, said: “I think as an agency for the government and military for Pakistan, the ISI has been effective in fighting against terrorism. As for the specific [Herat] case, I have not been following regional developments for some time but I do believe that the Pakistan government or any responsible agency of Pakistan will only fight against terrorism instead of being involved with any terrorist groups.”

News Reports

Trade and Economy

Xiaomi to sell in India
Global Times, July 9
Beijing-based mobile phone maker Xiaomi will start selling its smartphones in India soon, domestic news portal cankaoxiaoxi.com reported. The Mi 3 model will reportedly be available on July 15 on flipkart.com, an Indian e-commerce giant. The model will be sold for 15,000 rupees ($251), much lower than other smartphones with similar specifications sold in India, according to report.

New BRICS bank will give India a boost
The Hindu, July 14
India’s status in the world order could get elevated by the success of the proposed $100 billion New Development Bank and Contingency Reserve Arrangement proposed by the BRICS nations. At the BRICS Summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in Fortaleza, Brazil, the two issues will be the key to determine the relevance of the grouping for India. New Delhi, which is already grappling with balancing its economic and diplomatic interests in various regional trade pacts, can leverage the BRICS grouping only if it can use it to elevate its status in the global geopolitical and geo-economic order. Finalising the modalities for the BRICS Development Bank and the Contingency Reserve Arrangement is, therefore, top priority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is attending the three-day Summit. “I look forward to the successful conclusion of major BRICS initiatives, like the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, which have seen significant progress since their launch in New Delhi in 2012. “These initiatives will support growth and stability in BRICS and also benefit other developing countries,” Modi said in a statement before leaving for the BRICS summit. The challenges ahead, especially one posed by China’s dominance in the region, however, have to be tackled first. To ensure that it has an equal say in the Development Bank’s activities and China does not get an upper-hand, India will have to ensure that all BRICS members contribute equally to it.

Chinese FDI into India could touch $30 billion by 2025: Book
The Times of India, July 14
Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) into India could touch $30 billion by 2025, says a book. “We deem it entirely possible that, by 2025, the stock of Chinese FDI into India could be $30 billion, and if Chinese industrial clusters come to be established (in India) even larger, says the book titled “The Silk Road Discovered”. It is co-authored by Singapore-based business veteran Girija Pande, the Washington DC-based research consultancy China India Institute chairman Anil K Gupta and the institute’s managing partner Haiyan Wang. “This projection refers only to equity ownership of 10 per cent or more in an India-based company.” It does not include loan or minority stakes,” said the authors in the book, noting that both Chinese and Indian companies have entered into each other’s markets through third-party business acquisitions.   

India, China likely to sign MoU for cooperation in Railways
The Economic Times, July 20
India and China are likely to sign an MoU for cooperation in Railways during the forthcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in September, a senior Chinese diplomat said. “In terms of cooperation in the construction and overhaul of the existing railway system across India, China had sent an advance team here, which held a first round of consultations. And then an MoU is very much likely (to be signed) when the Chinese President comes to India in September,” Consul General of China in Mumbai Liu Youfa told PTI on the sidelines of a CII event. During the meeting, the two sides discussed cooperation in raising speed of trains on existing routes, training of heavy haul transportation and station development under strategic economic dialogue, among other issues. Referring to the recent endorsement of setting up a BRICS bank, which will be headquartered in Shanghai and headed by India for the next six years, the Chinese diplomat said that funding for these projects can be availed from various financial institutions.

Texprocil wants China to cut textile import tax
Hindu Business Line, July 20
Texprocil, a non-profit export promotion body, has urged the Government to request China to reduce its import duty on textiles to 5 per cent from 10 per cent. “China is willing to cut the duty by half if the Indian Government approaches it. If our request is met, we can increase our exports to China by $7 billion from the current $3.5 billion,” said Ramaswami. India has $32-billion trade deficit with China. Interestingly, imports worth $12 billion from China are allowed duty-free or at lower rates. While India has given sops for imports from China, it has not lobbied for any reciprocal concessions, he said.

Nomura forecasts 6 pct growth for India in 2015
Indian Express, July 20
India is set to be Asia’s biggest turnaround story and the country’s GDP growth is expected to rise to over 6 per cent in FY 2015 and over 7 per cent in FY 2016, says a Nomura report. According to the Japanese brokerage firm, 2014 would mark an inflection point and 2016 will be a watershed year as Indian economy will start outpacing China. “We expect real GDP growth to rise from an average of 4.7 per cent in 2013-14 to 6.3 per cent in 2015, 7.1 per cent in 2016 and 7.7 per cent in 2017,” Nomura said. The RBI’s inflation fight is likely to go ‘hand-in-hand’ with the proactive business oriented Narendra Modi government’s strong mandate to cut red tape and jump-start supply-side reforms, it added.

2000-year old Silk Route to be revived by China, India invited to join initiative
Daily Bhaskar, July 20      
China has planned to make its southeast Fujian province the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. The strategic initiative to improve connectivity and trade is important for the Asian countries. The Silk Road has historic importance as China looks to revive the route through which its merchants traded silk, ceramics, and tea to overseas markets over 2,000 years ago. China has sought India’s participation, but the latter has asked for more details on the road Zhang said the local authorities should strengthen economic ties with countries and regions along the maritime trade route and boost two-way investment.

News Reports

Energy and Environment

‘China hydel projects not to affect NE water flow’
The Times of India, July 18
At a time when anti-dam groups are worried over the China’s dam construction on the higher reaches of the Brahmaputra in Tibet, the Centre on Thursday said four hydropower projects planned by Beijing will not cause a significant change in the water flow of the northeast. Union minister of state for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, Santosh Kumar Gangwar said while the central government is aware of the run-of-the river hydro-electric project at Zangmu on the Chinese side of Brahmaputra known as Yarlung Tsangpo, three more hydro-power projects on the river in Tibetan Autonomous Region were approved by the Chinese authorities. The recently released ?Outline of the 12th Five Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China’ indicated three more hydropower projects on the main stream of the Yarlung Tsangpo which have been approved for implementation by the Chinese Authorities, he said, addressing the Lok Sabha. These four projects are considered to be run-of-the-river (RoR) hydro-electric projects and no significant change on the water flow in the Northeast is expected, he added.

China, India top buyers of Iran crude: Official
Press TV, July 20
Mohsen Qamsari, head of international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company, said China buys 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian oil or 40 percent of Iran’s crude exports. He stated that the Islamic Republic also exports 25 percent of its oil to India. Qamsari added that Iran is exporting an average of one million bpd of its oil based on the November 2013 interim nuclear deal with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany. World oil giants — including Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum (BP), Malaysia’s Petronas, Spain’s Repsol, Russia’s Lukoil, France’s Total and Italy’s Eni — have shown interest in returning to Iran following the easing of sanctions against the Islamic Republic in light of the implementation of the nuclear deal.

Russia seeks China, India as partners of new energy alliance
The Hindu, July 21
Russia has signalled that its proposed giant gas pipeline to China could be extended to India, setting the stage for a triangular energy partnership among three core members of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping. The move, if it materialises would feed into Russia’s discernable strategic shift towards the East, especially after the Ukrainian crisis, which has sent Moscow’s ties with the Atlantic Alliance in a tailspin. Leveraging its position as a global energy supplier, Russia has already identified China as one of its core partners — its inclination evident in the $ 400 billion gas deal that it has signed with Beijing. Mr. Rogozin told the website Russia and India Report in an interview that his talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, yielded the formation of a Working Group on Strategic Issues that would focus on “strategic projects”.

China and India in race to harness the full nuclear power of thorium
Metro, July 21
Chemical element thorium is being hailed as the key in the bid to find safer and more sustainable sources of nuclear energy to provide our electricity. And just like in a Hollywood movie, the race is on to be the first to fully harness that power. India, which has hundreds of thousands of tonnes of the metal amid its terrain, has announced plans to build a thorium-based nuclear reactor by 2016. But it faces competition from China, where the schedule to deliver a thorium-based nuclear power plant was recently overhauled, meaning scientists in Shanghai have been told to deliver such a facility within the next ten years.

Analyses and Commentaries

India and China – Cash of the Titans
Financial Times, July 11
Avantika Chilkoti and Gabriel Wildau compare the investment prospects of China and India. Britain’s chancellor George Osborne was in India this week, praising the new government of Narendra Modi for its “ambition, drive and pace” and noting the turnround in sentiment towards the country since Mr Modi’s historic election win in May. When it comes to economic development, China has trounced India. Back in 1980, when the “middle kingdom” was emerging from the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, Indira Gandhi’s India was the richer country. By the early 1990s China had overtaken India – and by the mid-2000s it was streaking ahead. Hopes for India are however very high partly because for the first time in more than 30 years, a single party has a clear majority in parliament, giving Mr Modi the power to introduce hard-hitting policy reforms. He has past form: as chief minister of Gujarat, he drew vast investment into the western state with a combination of business-friendly policies, rapid decision making and improvements to infrastructure.

Role of Emerging Economies
China Daily, July 14
Yao Zhizhong writes that the global emerging economies have been making efforts to contribute to the establishment of a mechanism to coordinate economic cooperation among themselves. Of late, the emerging economic entities such as the BRICS grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, are being increasingly greeted with skepticism, as a result of the decelerating economic growth rates of some of the previously fast-growing emerging economies. China is the largest BRICS economy, and, even though its growth rate has slowed, it is still expected to have a growth rate of around 7 percent over the next five to 10 years. This is much higher than that of many advanced economies, including the United States and European countries, which are only expected to grow by 2 to 3 percent. India, meanwhile, is yet to reach middle-income levels, or the middle-income trap, where a country gets stuck at a certain income level. In other words, India’s fast economic growth will last for a while, as it is still breaking out of its poverty trap. The bank, which will be launched with $50 billion in capital, is a proactive response to the flawed global governance mechanism, after the G7, consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US, revealed it was unable to deal with global economic affairs when challenged by the US financial crisis in 2008.

First Xi-Modi Meeting Sets Tone for China-India Relations
The Diplomat, July 15
Shannon Tiezzi writes that while the meeting at the BRICS summit was Xi and Modi’s first meeting together, another two are already in the works. Xi is scheduled to visit India in September, while Modi was officially invited to attend the APEC summit to be held in Beijing this November. If Modi attends, it will not only be his first visit to China as prime minister — it will also mark the first time India has participated in an APEC summit. India has long sought to join APEC, and thus China’s invitation is an important diplomatic signal from Beijing. Xi also invited India to increase its participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, where India is currently an observer. That may indicate that India will be invited to become a full-fledged member of the SCO in the near future.

India poised for its own reform and opening era
Global Times, July 17
Since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India, much talk has been devoted to whether the country’s newly-installed leader can replicate on a national scale the economic successes he achieved during his tenure as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat. Zhang Tingbin and Zhang Wei argue that India seems to possess many of the strengths that China had when it first embraced the world economy so many years ago. India has the added benefit of democratic supervision. If Modi can harness the advantages, it’s entirely possible that India could claim China’s mantle as the world’s factory. Indeed, the positive economic changes that Modi is credited for spearheading in Gujarat came about as a result of developing the local manufacturing sector. To a certain extent, the successes witnessed there are similar to those achieved in China’s Guangdong Province during the early days of its reform and opening-up era. Looking at India’s tentative development blueprint over the next five years, many see similarities with the plan China used to develop its economy some three decades ago. At the time, leaders in China focused on policies that would attract overseas investment, create globally oriented manufacturing hubs and develop infrastructure through international cooperation.

Is India the next China? 
Columbia Daily Tribune, July 19
China has had a huge impact on world food markets in recent years, as rising demand for meat and other agricultural products has pushed up international food prices. India’s population is almost as large as China’s and is growing more rapidly. Like China, India’s economy has grown at a fast pace, and higher incomes have resulted in changes in dietary patterns. If growth in Chinese demand for agricultural imports eventually slows down, some point to India as another possible future engine of growth for world food demand. While admitting that India is not yet another China, he argues that, in the next few years, India does not appear likely to have the same magnitude of effects on world food markets as its neighbor. India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of milk — from cows, buffalo and goats — and the dairy industry is expanding very rapidly. Poultry production is small but expanding, and consumers are buying more high-value foods as their incomes increase.

China, India driving force behind BRICS
Economic Times, July 19
Chinese Ambassador to India, Wei Wei writes that, against the background of a stable recovery of world economy, the 6th BRICS leaders meeting from July 15 to 16 at Fortaleza, Brazil, with the theme of Sustainable Solutions for Inclusive Growth, is definitely among most important international events in the second half of this year. It is also an important event for China-India relations since President Xi Jinping of China has had his first ever meeting with the new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit. The BRICS has become an important force in coping with the international financial crisis, in driving global economic growth, and in promoting democratisation of international relations. As the world’s two most populous and largest developing countries as well as the founding members of the BRICS, China and India are firm supporters and active participants of the cooperation among the BRICS countries, and always take cooperation with other BRICS countries as one of the priorities in their foreign policy

Banking on BRICS
The Hindu, July 20
Globalization has, in its wake, set off a series of trade-induced and economy-centric skirmishes across the canvass. So much so, there is an increasing tendency among different players in the world theatre to assert their right to protect themselves. The Fortaleza Declaration of heads of state from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (the so-called BRICS countries) is the latest evidence in the rise of regional assertion in the global field, writes K.T. Jagannathan. The BRICS bank development comes at a time when reforms at the Bretton-Woods institutions fail to fructify for one reason or the other and with the U.S. and European nations still not reconciled to concede BRICS nations a greater voice in the governance structure of the Bretton-Woods twin. Can the BRICS-sponsored NDB be a fitting alternative to the Bretton-Woods twin? It is easier said than done, however. It all depends on a host of factors. Its ability to put in place a conflict resolution mechanism, devise a robust credit appraisal mechanism, and put in place an effective supervisory regime will all, among others, be under test.

The BRICS and mortar of the South
The Hindu Business Line, July 20
Stanly Johnny writes that despite their deep mutual differences, the global South has managed to forge a healthy collective. “The developed countries cannot play the role of the engine of Southern growth. The new locomotive forces have to be found within the South itself. South-South cooperation is, therefore, crucial.” Manmohan Singh, then secretary-general of the South Commission, said this at a symposium on development at Espoo, Finland, in May 1989. The Commission, which later became South Centre, is an inter-governmental grouping of developing countries in the South. Twenty-three years later, in 2012, when Singh was Prime Minister, India proposed setting up a multilateral financial institution to support economic development of emerging economies. The proposal became a reality in another two years, with five emerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, or BRICS — agreeing to form a development bank and a pool of currency swaps at their sixth annual summit in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Bhutan: Small Kingdom with Big Diplomacy
The Nation, July 21
Kavi Chongkittavorn analyses Bhutan’s foreign policy with regards to its big neighbours – India and Chian in particular. Of all its neighboring countries, India has the best relationship with Bhutan. After all, successive Indian governments have provided all sorts of assistance and subsidies to the land-locked nation. In more ways than one, Bhutan’s economic livelihood depends very much on India’s generosity. The kingdom also wants to join the World Trade Organisation and transform the country into a financial hub. Now, Bhutan has diplomatic relations with 52 countries around the world. Only India, Bangladesh and Kuwait have established embassies in Thimphu. Yet, it does not have any link with China. During the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 2011, Thinley met informally with the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, without a prior consultation with India which immediately stirred anger in New Delhi. China and Bhutan are currently demarcating their 406 kilometre common border.

Move over, big brother
The Hindu, July 21
The western media has been dismissive of the BRICS move to set up a bank, but such cynicism misses the larger picture — the end of western hegemony and the rise of the multiplex world, writes Amitav Acharya. For the first time since its creation in the aftermath of World War II, the structure of global economic governance established and dominated by the United States has some serious competition. At their summit in Brazil on July 15, 2014, the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) agreed to set up the New Development Bank with a capitalisation of U.S. $100 billion) and a contingency fund to deal with financial crises. It is too early to say whether these mechanisms will challenge the role of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which have been the bedrock of the Bretton Woods system under U.S. hegemony. But they at least serve as a reminder that the era of Western and American dominance of the world is ending, giving way to a more complex and diversified world order: the multiplex world. The move by BRICS, though outwardly economic in nature, has serious geopolitical undertones.

The Promise and Peril of China-India Ties
The Diplomat, July 22
Kerry Brown asks: Would the détente between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi last? If ever there were two major countries looking for new energy and focus in their relationship, then India and China are it.  It was promising to see new Indian Premier Narendra Modi alongside President Xi Jinping and the other BRICS leaders in Brazil on July 15, declaring the establishment of a development fund to be located in Shanghai. More hopeful still was the announcement that Xi has accepted an invitation to go on a state visit to India later this year. A rebooted relationship with India would be a diplomatic coup for China. Does Modi’s arrival herald the moment for this?

Sino-Russian bonhomie brewing; India should be wary
The Economic Times, July 22
The tragic shooting down of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine is likely to lead to further American pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. The increasing US-Russia antagonism will have consequences and they will undoubtedly impact India, writes Rajesh Rajagopalan. Washington’s strategy is equally mystifying. As the dominant power, but a declining one, its primary strategic objective should have been to ensure the next two strongest powers do not make common cause. This should have been easy as Russia has had misgivings about China in any case, which partly had to do with their troubled Cold War history but also with Moscow’s natural concern about a fast-rising neighbour. But the US appears to have gone out of its way to drive Russia towards China. As a result, Moscow is increasingly coordinating its global policies with Beijing and moving to shore up cooperation in many areas, most critically in military technology.

Journal Articles

Projected Climate Change Impacts on Spatial Distribution of Bioclimatic Zones and Ecoregions Within the Kailash Sacred Landscape of China, India, Nepal
Climatic Change, June 2014
Robert Zomer et. al, have written on the rapidly accelerating climate change in the Himalaya, which is projected to have major implications for montane species, ecosystems, and mountain farming and pastoral systems. A geospatial modelling approach based on a global environmental stratification is used to explore potential impacts of projected climate change on the spatial distribution of bioclimatic strata and ecoregions within the transboundary Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL) of China, India and Nepal.

Social Protection, Economic Growth and Social Change: Goals, Issues and Trajectories in China, India, Brazil and South Africa
China Journal of Social Work, July 2014
Raymond Ngan reviews this book, edited by David Piachaud and James Midgley. The book, according to Ngan, tackles the questions, “What should be the roles of social protection in economic development, especially in countries experiencing rapid economic growth? Academically, what should be the useful social, political and economic functions served by social protection schemes in conditions of turbulent economic changes? Could social protections’ positive economic function be emphasised within the normative framework of a ‘social investment’ or ‘welfare developmentalist’ approach, notably to include social capital initiatives, asset programmes, employment creation strategies, micro-enterprises and social development as put forth by James Midgley and David Piachaud?”

‘Look East through Northeast’: Challenges and Prospects for India
ORF Occasional Paper, June 2014
Subir Bhaumik writes how, since the early 1990s, India has been seeking to situate the country’s troubled Northeast at the heart of what eventually eveolved into its so-called ‘Look East’ policy. The enthusiasm over the ‘Look East’ thrust of Indian foreign policy has also grown as Europe and the US have found themselves mired in economic stagnation with no immediate prospect of recovery. This has compelled India to look at Southeast and East Asia as priorities for developing trade and commerce in order to keep its own economy in shape and post reasonable growth rates.