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Dear Friends,
The Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) maintained its regular activities related to disseminating informed analysis and generating debates and discussions covering a gamut of themes related to China and East Asia.
The Internship and Work with Us programmes continue to attract fresh talent and we receive a large number of applications for both programmes. The ICS is now a well-known dynamic and interactive place for young and aspiring scholars, interested in Chinese and East Asian Studies. Students from IIM Indore have joined us for a summer internship this year.
EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
The ICS conducted a total of nine events: one Panel Discussion, one Book Discussion, and six Seminars in February and March. In the month of March, the ICS introduced a new interactive session called ‘Dialogue with the Expert’. Further, a Delegation from Vietnam also visited the ICS.
MARCH
On 1 March 2023, a panel discussion was organised on China-US relations: Downed Balloon, Cancelled Visit – Is it a Lost Opportunity? The speakers for the session were Prof. Da Wei, Director, Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS), Tsinghua and Professor, Department of International Relations, School of Social Science, Tsinghua University; Ms. Shannon Tiezzi, Editor-in-Chief, The Diplomat and Prof. Alka Acharya, Honorary Director, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) and Chairperson, Centre for East Asian Studies, SIS, Jawaharlal Nehru University. The discussion analysed the spy-balloon episode between US and China, its impact on their relations, the security implications in the Indo-Pacific, and possible implications for India’s G20 presidency. Dr. Hemant Adlakha, Vice-Chairperson, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), and Professor of Chinese, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, was the moderator of the session. (YouTube) (SoundCloud)
The first edition of Dialogue with the Expert took place on 3 March 2023, and featured Dr. Dirk Van Der Kley, Research Fellow at the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet), as the speaker. The session was moderated by Mr. Ashok K. Kantha, Honorary Fellow and Former Director (2017- 22), Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), New Delhi.
On 15 March 2023, the first seminar of the month was conducted on Japan’s Normalcy Conundrum in the Post-Abe Era. The speaker of this session was Prof. Yoshihide Soeya, Professor Emeritus, Political Science and International Relations, Faculty of Law, Keio University. The discussion addressed the matter of Japan becoming a normal country and revisited the understanding that Japan’s “normalcy” was indicative of its desire to re-enter into the great power politics of normalised defence and security policies backed by military capabilities, implying Japan’s departure from the “post-war regime”. Prof. Srabani Roy Choudhury, Professor, Japanese Studies, Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Adjunct Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), chaired the session. (YouTube) (SoundCloud)
The second seminar was conducted on 22 March 2023 on China in Soviet Lithuanian Children’s Periodicals. The speaker for the session was Dr. Karina Simonson, Postdoctoral Fellow, Vilnius Academy of Arts. The discussion was based on the speaker’s postdoctoral research project focusing on the representation of China in several Soviet Lithuanian children’s magazines and newspapers. She highlighted that in Lithuanian children’s periodicals, representations of Chinese history, culture, and people could be found linked with Soviet ideology and geopolitical interests underlying the “fraternity of peoples”. The discussion was chaired by Dr. Hemant Adlakha, Vice-Chairperson, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) and Professor of Chinese, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. (YouTube) (SoundCloud)
On 24 March 2023, delegates from the Institute of Defence International Relations (IDIR), Ministry of National Defence, Vietnam visited the ICS. The Vietnamese delegation was headed by Col. Ta Quanh Thanh, Deputy Director, IDIR, and included Lt. Col. Nguyen Duc Bao Châu, Deputy Head, Asia-Africa Division; and, Lt. Nguyen Thi Hang Nhung, Assistant, Asia-Africa Division. They held discussions with the Honorary Director, Prof. Alka Acharya and other ICS scholars on possibilities for cooperation and joint activities between the two institutions.
The third seminar was held on 29 March 2023 on China’s Position on the Ukraine Crisis, by Mr. Ashok K Kantha, Honorary Fellow and Former Director (2017- 22), Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), New Delhi. The discussion explored issues relating to China's position on the Ukraine conflict and its fallout, including the principal elements and drivers of China's professedly neutral stance and its evolution; Chinese assessments of the future trajectory of the war in Ukraine and the impact of the Ukraine war on China's significant relationships, especially with the USA, Russia and Europe. Dr. Bhaswati Sarkar, Professor, Centre for European Studies (CES), School of International Studies, JNU, chaired the discussion. (YouTube) (SoundCloud)
FEBRUARY
On 1 February 2023, the ICS organised a discussion on a recently published book titled, Churchill and India: Manipulation or Betrayal? In conversation with the author Amb. Kishan S Rana, Former Indian Ambassador/ High Commissioner to Algeria, Czechoslovakia, Kenya, Mauritius and Germany; Professor Emeritus of DiploFoundation, Malta and Geneva and Emeritus Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, was Mr Ravi Bhoothalingam, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi; Founder and Chairman, Manas Advisory, Gurgaon, who also chaired the session. (YouTube) (SoundCloud)
The seminar on 8 February 2023 was titled The Continental-Maritime Conundrum in History and The Emerging Sino-US Scuffle to Control Global Supply Chains. The speaker was Dr. Atul Bharadwaj, Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and Adjunct Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), New Delhi. The discussion highlighted the German attempts to connect Eurasia using Railways at the beginning of the twentieth century and how its Berlin-Baghdad rail project that threatened the predominance of sea routes in plying global trade became one of the reasons for World War I. Prof. Siddiq Wahid, Distinguished Professor, Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University, Delhi-NCR; Adjunct Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), chaired the session. (YouTube) (SoundCloud)
The next seminar was held on 15 February 2023 on The Cities in History and The Origins of Urban Development in China. The speaker for the session was Dr. T. G. Suresh, Associate Professor, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. The talk provided a retrospective frame of reference to understand urban development in contemporary China. The origins of China’s urban development can be traced back to imperial era country capitals, river basin cities, coastal towns and the traditional walled cities and as the speaker pointed out, the present day geographical concentration of China’s urbanisation still largely corresponds to historical urban regions of the East. The great rivers of Huang He, Chang Jiang and Zhu Jiang are home to vast urban populations. The speaker argued that China’s urban development in the post-reform era is a derivative outcome of the cities in history that precedes the imperial period. The session was chaired by Dr. Partha Mukhopadhyay, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) and Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research (CPR), New Delhi. (YouTube) (SoundCloud)
On 22 February 2023, the third seminar of the month was held on the topic, Local Resistance to Tibetan Rehabilitation: Indo-Tibetan Borderlands of Arunachal Pradesh. Dr. Sonika Gupta, Associate Professor of Global Politics, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, was the speaker for the session. The discussion highlighted the local resistance to the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy (TRP) in the West Kameng and Tawang districts comprising the Monyul region, where the total Tibetan refugee presence is around 1.3% of the total combined population. It also located the resistance to the presence of this minuscule Tibetan population in the broader context of exclusionary narratives of blood and soil in this Indo-Tibetan borderland. Dr. Nimmi Kurain, Professor, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, chaired the session. (YouTube) (SoundCloud)
PUBLICATIONS
Divya Pokhriyal, PhD Scholar, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi, wrote on Evolution of Queenship as an Institution in Imperial China, which was published as an ICS Occasional Paper in March 2023.
China Report, the flagship journal of the ICS, entered its 59th year of publication. The journal’s first issue was published in February 2023, and included six articles and two book reviews.
FACULTY UPDATE
MARCH
Alka Acharya, Honorary Director, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS); Chairperson, Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, presented a paper on the theme of Rebuilding Trust between India and China in an Evolving Global Landscape at the Virtual Bilateral Dialogue between the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), India and Sichuan University, China on 23-24 March 2023. She moderated a session on “Democratisation of Global Governance and Reformed Multilateralism” at a National Convention on India’s International Relations, organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, in association with Jawaharlal Nehru University, at the Sushma Swaraj Bhavan, New Delhi on 17-18 March 2023.
Bhim B. Subba, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Hyderabad and Visiting Associate Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), delivered an online talk on “China’s Political Structure and Contemporary World” at the Department of Political Science, Handique Girls’ College, Guwahati, Assam on 27 March 2023. He delivered another online talk on the “Chinese Communist Party and Power Politics under Xi Jinping” at Asian Pathfinders and Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) on 25 March 2023. He was the Chair & Discussant in the session on “Northeast Region in India’s Foreign Relations” (Technical Session V), Department of Political Science, St. Ann’s College for Women, Hyderabad, on 24 March 2023.
Hemant Adlakha, Associate Professor, Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; Vice-Chairperson and Honorary Fellow at Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), delivered a lecture titled "History of Chinese Communist Movement, CPC, and China Today" as part of the Ministry of Defence China Officer's Orientation Course, organised by the Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS), SIS, JNU on 14 March 2023. He delivered the Keynote Address on "Why Translation Matters: Problems of Inference in Converting Data from Chinese into English" at a National Conference organised by the Department of Foreign Languages, Tezpur University, Assam, on 17 March 2023. He also delivered a lecture at the ITBF Chinese Language Trainee Programme held at Tezpur University, Assam, on 18 March 2023. He participated in a National Seminar on Thinking and Feeling in a Language: Narratives from Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Societies through Cross-Cultural Perspectives on 17 March 2023, organised by the Department of Foreign Languages, Tezpur University, Assam.
Partha Mukhopadhyay, Senior Fellow, Center for Policy Research (CPR) and Honorary Fellow, the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), chaired a session on New Development Strategies and made a presentation on Urban agglomerates-cluster cities at a meeting on China’s New Growth Engines and Implications organised by Center for Contemporary China Studies (CCCS) and Chennai Centre for China Studies (C3S), in Chennai on 20 & 21 March 2023.
Jabin T. Jacob, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University, India and Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), was appointed as a Non-Resident Fellow, Centre for Social and Economic Progress, New Delhi, in March 2023.
FEBRUARY
Alka Acharya, Honorary Director, ICS and Chairperson, Centre for East Asian Studies, SIS, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, gave a presentation at Sinologues, a symposium on China’s World and China in the World, organised by Centre for Chinese and South East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, on 9 February 2023.
Anand P. Krishnan, Visiting Associate Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), joined the Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, as a Fellow in February 2023.
Jabin T. Jacob, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University, India and Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), delivered a lecture on “China’s Political Dynamics and its Impact on India” for the Administration & Logistics Management Course (ALMC-12) at the College of Materials Management, Jabalpur, on 20 February 2023. He was also invited as a panelist on “Chinese Geoeconomics and Impact on India”, Annual China Seminar, 78th Staff Course hosted by Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Tamil Nadu, on 15 February 2023.
Zorawar Daulet Singh, Adjunct Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), spoke on “India’s Search for Security in the Cold War” in the IRGS Seminar at Shiv Nadar University on 2 February 2023.
Ravi Bhoothalingam, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi; Founder and Chairman, Manas Advisory, Gurgaon, reviewed the book, Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution That Made China Modern by Jing Tsu, in China Report, Vol. 59, Number 1, February 2023.
MEDIA UPDATE
MARCH
Anand P. Krishnan, Visiting Associate Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), co-authored an article with Jabin T. Jacob, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) on ചൈനയുടെ ആഗോള സുരക്ഷ സംരംഭം: ലോകത്തിന്റെ ആവശ്യങ്ങളേക്കാൾ, ചൈനയുടെ സ്വന്തം ആഗ്രഹങ്ങൾ (China's Global Security Initiative: Less About the World’s Needs, More about China's Wants) for 24 News on 16 March 2023.
Hemant Adlakha, Associate Professor, Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; Vice-Chairperson and Honorary Fellow at Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), wrote articles on Ma Ying-jeou’s Trip to China Sparks Pushback – From Taiwanese and Chinese Alike for The Diplomat on 23 March 2023 and U.S. Is Threatening to Default China Debt Repayment, What Will Beijing Do? for Modern Diplomacy on 28 March 2023. He also penned two articles for The Indian Express: As US-China tug of war intensifies, why the clock is ticking for TikTok in America on 24 March 2023 and Xi Jinping’s 24-character slogan: What is it, what does it say about China’s foreign policy? on 15 March 2023.
Jabin T. Jacob, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University, India and Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), authored Power play in Moscow: What China hopes to gain from Xi’s meeting with Putin for The Indian Express (online) on 22 March 2023 and China’s Global Security Initiative is a smokescreen for the Deccan Herald on 20 March 2023. He also wrote a piece on Iran-Saudi Arabia Deal: China is here for self-interest, propaganda for Deccan Herald on 13 March 2023. He was interviewed by Akshay Shukla on China Defense Budget: रक्षा बजट बढ़ाकर चीन ने क्या संदेश दिया? (China Defense Budget: What Message did China give by increasing the defense budget?) for Navbharat Gold on 7 March 2023. He also participated in a podcast titled The meaning of China brokering a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia hosted by In Focus by The Hindu on 14 March 2023.
Shantanu Roy-Chaudhury, Research Associate, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), authored a piece on China-India Choice Splits Maldives Presidential Politics for The Diplomat on 25 March 2023.
Snigdha Konar, Research Assistant, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), wrote an article on Migration and China’s ‘Economic Miracle’ in Northern Girls for Economic and Political Weekly on 11 March 2023.
Veda Vaidyanathan, Visiting Associate Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), wrote a working paper titled India’s development cooperation in Africa: The Case of ‘Solar Mamas’ who bring light, published by United Nations University UNU-WIDER in March 2023.
Zorawar Daulet Singh, Adjunct Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) authored a piece on China’s peacemaker role that exposes limits of America’s power for the Times of India on 19 March 2023. He wrote on India's Foreign Policy Should Reflect Its Future Role As A Major Power for ABP LIVE on 1 March 2023. He was also interviewed by Pankaj Tomar on पश्चिम एशिया में शांतिदूत की तरह कैसे सामने आया चीन (How China Emerged as the Peacemaker in the West Asia?) for the Hindustan Nazariya column on 16 March 2023. He participated in discussion with Amb. Talmiz Ahmed on Saudi Arabia-Iran Reconcilation, Diplomatic Deal Brokered by China for Times Now on 20 March 2023.
FEBRUARY
Alka Acharya, Honorary Director, ICS and Chairperson, Centre for East Asian Studies, SIS, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, was interviewed by BBC (Hindi) on चीन पर जयशंकर और कांग्रेस का एक-दूसरे पर हमला, चीन-भारत संबंधों की सच्चाई क्या है? (Jaishankar and Congress attack each other on China, what is the truth of China-India relations?) on 23 February 2023.
Anand P. Krishnan, Visiting Associate Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), was interviewed by Abhish K. Bose for Asian Lite International on BRI Aims to provide Great Power Status to China on 19 February 2023.
Jabin T. Jacob, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University, India and Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), wrote a chapter on ‘The Implications for India of a Successful Chinese Invasion of Taiwan’, in David Santoro and Ralph Costa edited volume The World After Taiwan’s Fall published by Pacific Forum, Issues & Insights, Vol. 23, SR 2 on February 2023. He also wrote Lesson for India from China’s balloon war on 27 February 2023, and India needs to rethink its China strategy at LAC on 8 February 2023 for Deccan Herald. He also wrote Floating a Balloon for The Indian Express on 23 February 2023, which was published online as Spy balloons and China’s narrative war against America’s superpower status. He was also interviewed by Tobias Matern for Süddeutsche Zeitung on Die indische Position ist nicht einfach schwarz oder weiß (The Indian Position is not simply Black and White) on 15 February 2023.
Ravi Bhoothalingam, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), wrote a review titled The Churchill Question, of the book authored by Ambassador Kishan Rana, Churchill and India: Manipulation or Betrayal? for the Business Standard on 23 February 2023.
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Compiled by:
Arfina Ara Hussain
Research Intern
Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi
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