A four member delegation from the Yunnan University met with ORF Kolkata faculty on 11 August 2019. The delegation included: Li Chenyang, Vice President of Yunnan University, Dean of Institute of Myanmar Studies; Lu Guangsheng, Vice Dean of School for International Studies, Chief Expert of Center for China’s Neighborhood Diplomacy, Yunnan University; Liu Peng, Associate Professor, Yunnan University and Luo Xuefang, Attache, Policy Planning Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China . The meeting was designed to lay the groundwork for the promotion of cooperation between the two organizations on faculty exchange, joint research, and joint field study on topics of mutual interest.
Yunnan University is one of the leading universities in China and has one of the best international studies programs in the country. There are more than 50 faculty members in the university focused on International Studies, South Asia studies, Southeast Asia studies, West Asia studies, and Africa studies. In 2018, the university established the Institute for Indian Studies, the first of its kind in China.
The agenda for the interaction comprised three key topics: dynamics of the Indo-Pacific region, Connectivity issues of China with South and Southeast Asia, and regional cooperation in South Asia. ORF Kolkata has conducted and continues to work on topics related to China. For instance, the project on Understanding China focuses on media reporting of issues relevant to India-China relations and exploring Indian regional media’s perception of China in states from the bordering region,; second, to offer observations comparing Indian regional media’s perceptions with those of the national newspapers. Another area of study involved China and India’s economic and other engagements at the bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral levels in the context of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the mega-regional trade agreement in the east in which both nations are parties and also on other international/regional forums.
Additional areas of joint research were discussed during the meeting which involved work on energy relations, maritime politics, and engagement of India and China in regional forums. The potential for exploring faculty exchange programs between the two institutes was also brought up.
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