Dear Friend,

The ICS’ activities in the month of June continued without let-up with both our regular Wednesday Seminars as well as a series of delegation visits from China and other events. The ICS kicked off preparations in Mumbai for a major new initiative in the country to train college faculty to teach China in their departments. A workshop for faculty from universities and colleges planning to introduce China in their curriculum will be organized in January next year in collaboration with the United Board, Hong Kong and the Harvard-Yenching Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

EVENTS AND Activities

A major event for the month was a discussion on 7 June on China's Belt and Road Initiative: Assessment, Implications and India's Response with presentations by Amb. Shyam Saran, former Foreign Secretary and presently, a member of theICS Governing Council, Amb. PS Raghavan, Convenor of India’s National Security Advisory Board, and ICS Fellow Dr. Jabin T Jacob. The event saw participation from a wide spectrum of observers of China covering academics, diplomats, military personnel and the political class. You can also catch the event on YouTube and on SoundCloud. 

Other seminars covered regionalism and China and the UN in Myanmar by former Ambassador to China, PR to the UN and the UNSG’s Special Envoy for Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar (see YouTube) and an examination of goings on in Sikkim post-1962 Sino-Indian Conflict.

Among visiting Chinese delegations were those from the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (22 June) and a mixed delegation of Taiwan scholars from various institutions in Xiamen, Shanghai, and Beijing (27 June). 

IN the media  

ICS Faculty and associate were busy in the media with Amb. Saran drawing out the implications of China’s rising role in global climate change governanceespecially in light of American President Trump withdrawing his country from the Paris Pact. He also penned a piece in the Business Standard on a similarly rising global profile for China’s renminbi. Dr. Jacob meanwhile explained the reasoning behind and the implications of India giving China’s Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing a miss in the Business Today. I also commented on the BRF and other issues in the print and electronic media.

faculty updates

Assistant Director, Dr. Aravind Yelery attended the BRICS Political Parties, Think-Tanks and Civil Society Organizations Forum in Fuzhou organized by the International Department of the CPC Central Committee in mid-June. ICS Adjunct Fellow, Prof. Rama V. Baru of the Jawaharlal Nehru University and ICS Associate Fellow, Dr. Madhurima Nundy were part of a panel ‘Public Hospital Reforms in India, China and Southeast Asia: Consequences for Accountability and Governance’ at an international conference held at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore from 28 to 30 June.

ICS Fellow, Prof. Sabaree Mitra and I participated in the 2^nd India-China Think-Tanks Forum in Beijing on 24 and 25 June. I chaired the session on strategic communication and also delivered a paper on emerging transitions in India-China economic engagement, while Prof. Mitra explored new cultural interfaces between the two countries. At the end of the month, Dr. Jabin Jacob was hosted by the 2 Mountain Division of the Indian Army in Dinjan, Assam for a presentation on ‘China’s Belt and Road Initiative, CPEC and India’s Response’.

You will find much more on our website. Do follow us on Faceboook and Twitter and contact us at info@icsin.org to receive the latest information on our events and publications. I take this moment to thank you for your support to the ICS and hope we will continue to receive such support and encouragement in the future.

publications

Our researcher Naina Singh tackled the extremely important and complex topic ofChina’s diverse multilateral strategies in Central Asia in an ICS Analysis while a series of ICS blog tackled everything from Artificial Intelligence and China’s Future to China’s diplomatic offensive against Taiwan with a piece on Panama switching recognition to China.