BRI
Second China-Central Asia (C+C5) Foreign Ministers Meet: Major Takeaways

Background
China’s relations with its Central Asian neighbours have been complicated. Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Central Asia has been crucial for Chinese foreign policy for two reasons. First, the security of its nor....

China-Central Asia Relations

Since the Soviet disintegration, Chinese activities in Central Asia grew leaps and bounds. China has penetrated deep into economic and strategic spheres of these countries with its ambitious Belt and Road projects. However, with the increasing Chines....

CPEC: Chinese ‘Dragon’ in Pakistan’s ‘Tent'

On Monday, 22 Feb 2021, Pakistan’s Cabinet Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor [CCoCPEC] instructed Ministries of Defence and Interior to ensure that Pakistan Navy and the Coast Guards immediately vacate 116 acres of real estate in Gwadar....

China’s ‘Helmsman’ and the Game of Monopoly

China looms large on Indian public consciousness driven by cataclysmic COVID-19 virus that caused the global pandemic, aggression in 2020 and continued tense face-off in Eastern Ladakh. At the turn of the new decade three events stand out for mention....

New Geopolitics: India’s Foreign Policy Challenges in 2021

Covid-19 has accelerated the global political and economic rebalancing that had been underway for the last two decades. New power equations are emerging. China’s confidence has increased many folds while the West is struggling to find answers to it....

Tibetan Buddhism: A Source and Strength of India’s Soft Power Diplomacy

The relations between Tibet, India and China are best illustrated in the words of Claude Arpi, a noted historian and journalist who has written a series of important books on Tibet, India and China, including, The Fate of Tibet: When the Big Insec....

China Factor in India- Africa Relations

When I think of China in Africa I am reminded of my very first diplomatic assignment in Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) in the early 1980s. There were two diplomatic missions with whom we did not have diplomatic relations or any contacts one was the Is....

VIF Webinar on “International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)”

India’s trade with Central Asia is much below its true potential, and the factor behind is the lack of direct connectivity. The Chabahar Port and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) remain crucial in this regard. Vivekananda In....

Why China is an Economic Landmine

‘And China has deep pockets’ is a guaranteed statement one gets to hear in every seminar or discussion on China. But despite its moneyed and lucrative hues, many questions arise. How is China an economic behemoth, when economists and Chinese poli....

China's Debt Trap in Central Asia

Background
Chinese interest in Central Asia is multifold. Firstly to secure its northwestern region of Xinjiang, which shares a direct border with three Central Asian countries; Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Xinjiang is home to....

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