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Dear Friend,
As India and the rest of the world continue to fight Covid-19, the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) has sustained its remote working and remained steadfast in our endeavour to have informed analysis of China and East Asia.
We have made use of digital technology to expand our outreach and online activities. The ICS and its precursor, China Study Group, have the uninterrupted tradition of organising the Wednesday Seminars for 50 years, and we did not let the Coronavirus come in the way. Our weekly seminars on Wednesday have transitioned to the webinar mode, and these have been well appreciated. Further, in line with our aim of capacity building of China studies, we have launched the ICS Virtual Internship Programme, instead of postponing our popular internship arrangements. In April, we had an active publication programme and increased our presence on various social media and digital platforms.
EVENTS AND ACTIVITIEs
We had an ICS Conversation in the webinar mode featuring Amb. Shyam Saran, Member, ICS Governing Council and Former Foreign Secretary of India, and Mr. Ananth Krishnan, Correspondent, The Hindu on the ‘Impact of Covid-19 on China’ (SoundCloud), on 22 April 2020. I moderated the dialogue.
We also explored the impact and implications of the Covid pandemic in our other webinars this month - Prof. Amita Batra, Centre for South Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, on ‘Economic Implications of Covid-19’ (SoundCloud) on 8 April 2020; Prof. Biao Xiang, University of Oxford, on ‘Mobility, Inequality and the Corona Crisis’ (SoundCloud) on 15 April 2020; and Prof. Da Wei, Assistant President and Dean, University of International Relations, Beijing, on ‘Covid-19 and China-US Relations: Is it the Sputnik Moment?’ (SoundCloud) on 29 April 2020.
A three-day online lecture series on Research Methodology was conducted by Dr. Rityusha Tiwari, Visiting Fellow, ICS, and Assistant Editor, China Report for research scholars on 20, 21 and 23 April 2020. The lectures focused on three themes: Introduction to Methods in International Relations (IR), Integrating Methods in IR and East Asian and Chinese IR. The lecture series had a special focus on China; East Asian IR Theories, Chinese IR Theories and the essentials in research on China and theory simulation were explored in an interactive mode.
PUBLICATIONS
In total, we had nine publications – five ICS Analysis and four blogposts in ICS Research Blogs (all available on our website).
The following is the list of ICS Analysis:
- Lt. General SL Narasimhan, Director General, Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies and Member, National Security Advisory Board, Government of India, on ‘China’s Capabilities in Disruptive Technologies and its Implications’;
- Mr. Santosh Pai, Honorary Fellow, ICS, and Partner, Link Legal India Law Services, on ‘China’s Post COVID-19 Path to Normalcy: Parallels for India’;
- Prof. Bruno S Sergi, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and Prof. Elena G Popkova, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Russia on ‘What Does the Pandemic of Covid-19 Tell Us About Economic Security as a Factor of Competitiveness? An Exercise on China’;
- Ms. Reeja Nair, Research Associate, ICS, on ‘Tracing the Informal: Analysing Labour Legislation in China’; and
- Dr. Madhurima Nundy, Assistant Director and Fellow, ICS, on ‘Epidemics and their Urban Context: COVID 19 and Lessons from Wuhan’.
The following is the list of blogposts in ICS Research Blogs:
- Mr. Samanvya Hooda, Research Assistant, ICS, on ‘Launch-On-Warning on China’s Nuclear Posture’;
- Ms. Anu, Research Assistant, ICS, on ‘Superpowers and Spirit of International Cooperation in a Pandemic’;
- Ms. Preksha Shree Chhetri, Research Assistant, ICS, on ‘Latest Chapters in Sino-Italian Ties: BRI and the Outbreak of COVID-19’; and
Ms. Reena Bhatia, Research Assistant, ICS, reviewed Gurudas Das and C. Joshua Thomas (ed.), Voices from the Border: Responses to Chinese Claims over Arunachal Pradesh (New Delhi: Pentagon Press, 2015).
IN THE MEDIA
Amb. Shyam Saran, Member, ICS Governing Council, penned a piece for The Indian Express titled ‘Beijing’s response to Covid underlines that the world needs more democracy, not less’ and gave a widely-circulated interview to ThePrint on the schisms within China on 21 April 2020.
Mr. Ravi Bhoothalingam, Honorary Fellow, ICS, and Dr. Zorawar Daulet Singh, Adjunct Fellow, ICS, contributed to the April issue of India Seminar, which was dedicated to commemorate 70 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China. While Mr. Bhoothalingam wrote on ‘Four Civilizational lessons for a productive dynamic’, Dr. Singh had a piece on ‘Coexisting in the Indo-Pacific’. Dr. Singh was the guest editor of the issue.
Mr. M V Rappai, Honorary Fellow, ICS had a contribution for Diplomatist titled ‘India-China: 70 Years of Diplomatic Relations’ on 20 April 2020.
Dr. Rajiv Ranjan, Adjunct Fellow, ICS, had piece in the Hindi daily, Prabhat Khabar, on China’s efforts to combat COVID on 17 April 2020.
Anurag Viswanath, Adjunct Fellow, ICS, penned two pieces for Financial Express - ‘Coronavirus outbreak: Taiwan shows China, WHO how it’s done’ on 16 April 2020 and ‘Covid-19 lessons from South Korea: Between trust and surveillance’ on 1 April 2020.
Mr. Santosh Pai, Honorary Fellow, ICS, had a commentary in The Hindu on ‘New FDI Rules’ on 18 April 2020.
Dr. P.K. Anand, Research Associate, ICS authored two pieces - ‘COVID-19 | Labour, lockdown and the State’s predicament’ for Moneycontrol.com on 3 April 2020 and ‘Covid-19 and the Crisis of Informal Labour in India’ for China Labour Bulletin on 13 April 2020.
Mahesh Kumar Kamtam, Research Intern, ICS penned two piece for Wionews.com – ‘Communist Party of China and the crisis of social contract in a globalised world’ 13 April 2020 and ‘Explained: The conflict between the WHO and Taiwan’ on 20 April 2020.
Dr. Nirmola Sharma, Visiting Research Associate, ICS reviewed Tansen Sen’s India, China and the World: A Connected History (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2018) for Economic & Political Weekly. The review is titled ‘The Long Sweep of India-China History’.
Faculty Updates
Prof. Alka Acharya, Honorary Fellow, ICS, and Professor, Centre for East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, was panellist at a webinar organised by the Centre for South Asian Studies, College of Liberal Arts, Shanghai University, on ‘70th Anniversary of China-India Diplomatic Relations’. Prof. Dr. Manmohan Agarwal, Adjunct Fellow, ICS, and former Professor, at the Centre for International Trade and Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, published an article titled ‘The Effect of 2008 Financial Crisis on the Distribution of Economic Power’ in International Studies, Volume 57.No 2. April 2020. Professor Agarwal was also the editor of a two-volume set published by World Scientific - Developing Countries and the Need for G20 and How Developing Countries Can Achieve Sustainable Development Goals. I was featured speaker at webinars and other virtual events organised by CII, PHD Chamber of Commerce, Indian Council of World Affairs, Vivekananda International Foundation and India Foundation.
VIRTUAL INTERNSHIP
As mentioned above, we have launched our Virtual Internship Programme in April. Normally, we have our hands full in the summer months with Interns from different parts of the country; the Internship Programme at the ICS, over the years, has received accolades. We have now been joined by seven Virtual Interns from four leading academic institutions of the country. All these Research Interns have the opportunity to be mentored by some of the most reputed scholars and experts on China who are affiliated with the ICS.
The ICS Website, Facebook and Twitter accounts are among the several ways you can get the latest on our publications and activities. You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter to follow our events and publications as well as browse our YouTube and SoundCloud channels.
We look forward to your participation in our events and activities in the coming days and hope for your continued support.
Please take care, remain positive and stay safe and healthy.
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