EVENTS

This presentation points out four important factors for China on its policy regarding the Ukraine war. (1) Domestic policy, especially the 20th party Congress, is a crucial factor for CCP this year. The government is much more deliberate than usual to change and deny its policy, including foreign policy, for example, its “independent and autonomous” diplomacy and closed policy for Russia. (2) US-China “competition” is the main narrative until 2049 when the Chinese Dream comes true. Hence, China attaches importance to its relations with the US, even in the Ukraine war. (3) Sino-Russian relations are also an important factor for China to compete with the US. But Russia is not an ally of China. (4) Global South and other emerging countries are crucial and important factors for China as Beijing envisages future “competition” between advanced countries led by the US and the global south and emerging countries led by China. China pays great attention to the attitude of developing and emerging countries toward the Ukraine war. About Taiwan, the media has been highlighting the real possibility of China’s attack on Taiwan, which the speaker does not agree with. This presentation will deliberate on China’s Taiwan policy and will focus on China’s actions and behaviour in August 2022 regarding the situation in Taiwan Strait.

About the Speaker

Kawashima Shin is currently a professor in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo, following stints as an associate professor at Hokkaido University and the University of Tokyo. He is also an executive director of research at the Nakasone Peace Institute and an associate member of the Science Council of Japan. His main areas of interest are Chinese/Taiwanese diplomatic history and contemporary international relations in East Asia. He earned his academic degrees at the University of Tokyo (PhD, 2000). He has authored and edited several books and numerous articles, notably Chūgoku kindai gaikō no keisei (Nagoya University Press, 2004; awarded the Suntory Academic Prize) and Japan-China Relations in the Modern Era (co- authored; London: Routledge, 2017).

About the Chair

Hemant Adlakha, PhD, teaches Chinese at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is also Vice Chairperson and Honorary Fellow, ICS. His areas of research include contemporary Chinese political discourse and Literature and Culture in modern China. He is an Editorial Committee member of the International Society for Lu Xun Studies. His recent publications include “Simla, McMahon, and South Tibet: Debates in China on Losing Territory to India,” a chapter in the book Boundaries and Borderlands: A Century after the Simla Convention, (ed.) Alka Acharya, Routledge July 2022; chapter “Remembering Raoul David Findeisen, 1958- 2017” in Professor Raoul David Findeisen Memorial Collection [In Chinese] (ed.) Wang Xirong, Peoples’ Literature Publishing House, Shanghai, P R China (Forthcoming 2022). His articles have appeared in The Diplomat, guancha.cn, Japan Times, ThinkChina, EPW, The Hindu, etc. He edits the ICS Translations blog.

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