This conference will present the findings from an extensive study on Chinese public diplomacy efforts in the region. Four panel discussions will delve deep into the reach and influence of Chinese public diplomacy and the policy implications for countries across the South and Central Asian region.
This is a full-day event, including a lunch keynote address by former Foreign Secretary of India, Amb. Shyam Saran.
Speakers
Amrita Jash, Research Fellow, Centre for Land Warfare Studies
Bonnie Glaser, Senior Adviser for Asia and Director, China Power Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Dinusha Panditaratne, Non-resident Fellow and Former Executive Director, Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute
Farkhod Tolipov, Director, Bilim Karvoni
Farooq Sobhan, President and CEO, Bangladesh Enterprise Institute
Igor Denisov, Senior Research Fellow, Center for East Asian and Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies, Institute of International Studies Moscow State Institute of International Relations
Lindsey Ford, David M. Rubenstein Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Manoj Joshi, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation
Nandan Unnikrishnan, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation
Rakhim Oshakbayev, Director, Center for Applied Research “TALAP”
Samantha Custer, Director of Policy Analysis, AidData, College of William & Mary
Shao Yuqun, Director, Institute for Taiwan, Hong Kong & Macau Studies Senior Fellow, Center for America Studies, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies
Shyam Saran, Former Foreign Secretary of India
Siddhartha Ghose, Associate Director, AidData, College of William & Mary
Swarnim Waglé, Former Vice-Chair, National Planning Commission, Government of Nepal
Tanvi Madan, Senior Fellow and Director, The India Project, The Brookings Institution
Tanya Sethi, Senior Policy Analyst, AidData, College of William & Mary
Programme
8:15 a.m. | Registration
8:45 a.m. | Welcome remarks by ORF, AidData, and CSIS
9:00 a.m. | Panel 1: Quantifying the reach and influence of Chinese public diplomacy in South Asia and Central Asia | Samantha Custer, Siddhartha Ghose and Tanya Sethi
10:30 a.m. | Tea/Coffee
10:45 a.m. | Panel 2: Chinese public diplomacy in South Asia | Amrita Jash, Shao Yuqun, Farooq Sobhan, Dinusha Panditaratne and Lindsey Ford (moderator)
12:15 p.m. | Lunch
12:45 p.m. | Lunch keynote | Shyam Saran and Bonnie Glaser (moderator)
1:45 p.m. | Panel 3: Chinese public diplomacy in Central Asia | Rakhim Oshakbayev, Farkhod Tolipov, Igor Denisov and Nandan Unnikrishnan (moderator)
3:15 p.m. | Tea/Coffee
3:30 p.m. | Panel 4: Policy implications | Tanvi Madan, Manoj Joshi, Swarnim Waglé and Samantha Custer (moderator)
5:00 p.m. | Conference ends
This event is being jointly held by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and US-based organisations — AidData, a research lab at William & Mary, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI).
Participation in this event is by invitation only.
