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While declaring that China opposes all forms of terrorism, its foreign ministry asserts that it seeks to foster amity. Does Beijing really think it can present itself as an honest broker even as it acts like a behind-the-scenes instigator?

This brief makes an assessment of the data-sharing arrangement between China and India as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding for sharing hydrological information on the Brahmaputra river system, aimed at facilitating advance warning for floods in India during monsoon. Using hydro-meteorological data, this brief assesses the arrangement and identifies its limitations, primary of which is the wrong choice for the location of measuring stat

India-China relations appear to be showing signs of easing, particularly with successive high-level exchanges between the two governments since late 2024. Given the positive momentum in bilateral ties in the past few months, there is cautious optimism in certain quarters that some kind of détente might be on the anvil. Against this backdrop, this brief surveys a sampling of current domestic discourse in China around issues related to India. It f

This paper examines China and India’s economic engagements at the bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral levels. The evaluation is made in the context of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the mega-regional trade agreement in the east in which both nations are parties. The paper argues that irrespective of the nature of the two countries’ relationship, at its core is not cooperation, but mutual mistrust aggravated by Ch

Territorial disputes between China and Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea and between Japan and South Korea over the Takeshima/Dokdo islands in the Sea of Japan have,particularly in the second half of 2012, given rise to concerns about peace and security in North East Asia. Territorial disputes between China and Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea and between Japan and South Korea over the Takes

China's relation with Pakistan has become one of the most comprehensive one that Beijing has with any country. The strategic imperatives of developing Pakistan as a bulwark against India has been among Beijing's overriding objectives in influencing the balance of power in South Asia.

Xi's visit to the United Kingdom was not about trade and investment only. It has an important strategic component, viz, shaping China as a truly global power. Recall that the end station of both the land and maritime components of the Belt Road Initiative is Europe. As China shifts its economy towards high-end manufacturing and services, it is targeting the European market, where its two largest partners are Germany and UK.

In China, the regime's vision and capacity to transform the society and state has made a lot of difference, said Mr Harish Khare, Senior Associate Editor and Chief of the Delhi Bureau of The Hindu. Contemporary Chinese elite, cohesive as they are, have played a vital role in shaping-up the country.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is now revealing, more assertively than before, its high expectations with regard to the opening up of Sino-Indian border trade specifically through revival of Yadong (Shigatse, Tibet) Trade Post, which was set up on May 10,

This year’s defence budget marks an increase of 8.1 percent from last year. China has justified its defence budget by arguing that its defence spending is less than 1.5 percent of its GDP, but that argument is not going to go down well with its neighbours.

Tibet is where India and China meet. It is through Tibet that China manages its relations with India, using the boundary dispute to keep New Delhi off-balance. India is also where the most revered Tibetan, the 14th Dalai Lama lives in exile. Having failed to negotiate his return, there is now a two-pronged effort by China to deal with the consequences of the Dalai Lama’s passing and his possible reincarnation outside Tibet: to m

Extraordinary events in geopolitics have redefined China's contemporary history: the breakup of Soviet Union; the end of Cold War; and China's realignment with Russia and the erstwhile states of the Soviet Union.

The 13th round of military commander’s talks between India and China will take place at Moldo today.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is central to the country’s ambitious policy reorientation. The energy sector accounts for nearly 40 percent of all investments under the BRI, with significant geostrategic and geoeconomic implications. In recent years, China has adopted a “greening the BRI” strategy, emphasising green energy projects. This brief analyses China’s BRI investments in the energy sector to establish the potential trend

Over the last two decades, China has established a significant economic presence in most African countries. Its lucrative economic investment package, flexible political approach, and focused big-ticket development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) provide an ostensibly massive opportunity to African countries. However, the unilateral nature of the initiative, the lack of transparency and accountability to African countries, and t

China’s aircraft carrier programme anchors its transformation from a continental to a maritime power. The Liaoning, Shandong, and EMALS-equipped Fujian together underscore Beijing’s intent to operate far from its shores, blending audacious innovation with disciplined, experience-driven learning. Unlike the United States’ (US) mature carrier operations model, China’s EMALS effort remains exploratory yet strategically purposeful, aimed at d

China’s growing military profile in Africa is following its economic footprint in the continent as exemplified by the Chinese “logistics support base” in Djibouti. It is moving towards an ever more expansive definition of its global interests, as its business in Africa pushes it to create new mechanisms for securing those interests, including its own growing military footprint abroad. This brief examines the changing nature of China’s inv

The ‘new model’ is about getting the US to accept China as an equal

At a time when the world is distracted by the Wuhan virus pandemic, China has stepped up its plan to annex Hong Kong fully

In the past seven decades, China has been actively building civilian, military, and dual-use infrastructure in Xinjiang and Tibet—which it calls, respectively, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). This infrastructure web runs close to India’s northern borders, over which clashes have led to two standoffs in the recent past: in mid-2017 (at Doklam) and in mid-2020 (in Galwan Valley). China’s inf

China’s long game in Africa is not just about economic influence or military strength. It is also about the subtle art of diplomacy and influence

China’s space policy planners are convinced that the country should aim for manned lunar landings by 2040. It has already established a sophisticated robotic lunar exploration programme and human landings are perceived as the logical next step. New navigation and communication architectures are being developed for this purpose, in addition to building life support systems and a suitable launch vehicle. However, China’s political leadership wo

Since the assumption of Xi Jinping to the post of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2013, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has undergone numerous changes, both in its modernisation and organisation, that are meant to ensure that the PLA forces will be battle-ready. The modernisation aims for the PLA to acquire the latest technology and logistics for quick and decisive victories in any theatre of battle. This brief exa

Since the assumption of Xi Jinping to the post of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2013, the People’s Liberation Army has undergone numerous changes, both in its modernisation and organisation, that are meant to ensure that the PLA forces will be battle-ready. The modernisation aims for the PLA to acquire the latest technology and logistics that can lead the military to quick and decisive victories in any theatre of ba

On 3 September 2025, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) held a grand parade in Beijing, showcasing ballistic and cruise missiles, nuclear triad components, unmanned platforms with countermeasures, and conventional systems from across its services. The event marked the 80th anniversary of China’s ‘War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression’, which Beijing interprets as culminating in Japan’s surrender to the Allied Powers in September

China’s evolving security dynamics with the United States have compelled it to rethink its nuclear strategy to achieve effective deterrence. It is aiming to modernise its nuclear arsenal and increase its nuclear ambiguity through conventional-nuclear entanglement. Ambiguity will increase the risks of mischaracterisation and can have a destabilising impact on the Indo-Pacific region. This paper highlights two areas where India ought to be most c

China’s nuclear expansion could lead to a spiraling arms race.

Arguably the most significant global phenomenon of the past four decades has been the economic and strategic rise of China. Today analysts are confronting questions of whether China will replace the United States as the world’s biggest power, if it will do so peacefully or through confrontation and conflict, how it will subvert the existing system of global rules and institutions, and whether a new form of bipolarity would emerge to accommodate

The annual parliamentary sittings of China’s National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference—usually held at the same time—are important political events, with speeches of leaders at the meetings reflecting the country’s policy trajectory. During the last sessions of both in March 2023, President Xi Jinping noted that western countries led by the United States (US) are seeking to “contain and en

The message — no business if you are on the wrong side of issues like Xinjiang

New Delhi will need to look to the US for help resisting Beijing’s maritime ambitions.

Sharp power—a state's attempt to alter the behaviour of other countries through the manipulation of culture, education systems, and the media to further its interests—is a key tool of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Issues related to regime legitimacy and the CCP's development priorities have shaped China's sharp power approach. In the Xi Jinping era, there is some anxiety in the party ranks that external conditions are turning aga

As usual, China intends to be the number one nation in space

Three months since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of COVID-19 as a pandemic, the health crisis has wreaked havoc on people’s lives and livelihoods across the globe. Can state responsibility be apportioned for the pandemic, under the current international legal system? What would the elements of such responsibility be? This brief explores the concept of “state responsibility” under public international law and exam

Vivek Mishra, “China’s Tech Challenge: Assessing Biden’s Response,” ORF Issue Brief No. 649, July 2023.

This brief aims to examine one of China’s possible responses to the various extremist and terrorist activities that plague the internal security of Pakistan, given the necessity of securing its USD 62 billion investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Given that Pakistan is failing to control this problem, China will have to take measures of its own to secure CPEC. The response of China could possibly be inspired by its strateg

A significant technological feat for China, Beijing’s accomplishment is also a reminder of the revved-up space competition among the major space powers.

China’s actions in Ladakh since 2020 are in violation of common understandings and have brought the focus of bilateral relationship back to the issue of the border. This paper seeks to contribute to the understanding of China’s behaviour along the India-China border by exploring a fresh perspective that explains the instability along the border as a function of China’s two-front conundrum. It makes a historical account of past events to arg

The China-brokered Saudi Arabia-Iran deal puts the spotlight on New Delhi’s ties with Tehran

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has detained an estimated one million Uyghur Muslims in concentration camps in the Xinjiang province for forced re-education and political indoctrination. While the West has deplored China’s actions, the major Muslim countries have defended and even welcomed the policy. China has exploited its economic and diplomatic clout and the growing indebtedness of the Muslim world to subdued any criticism of its actions

Over the past two decades, China, in the name of counterterrorism has been carrying out a repressive campaign against the minority Muslim Uyghur population in its northwest region of Xinjiang. Its policy has provoked widespread condemnation from Western democracies. However, Beijing appears unscathed by such criticisms, especially as the Muslim world has either remained silent, or else have approved China’s actions in the region. This pap

China’s ‘three warfares’ strategy (TWS)—understood as public opinion, psychological, and legal warfare—has received considerable attention, but most analyses focus on Beijing’s sovereign claim to Taiwan and its maritime claims in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. This occasional paper evaluates the manifestation of the TWS against India in Ladakh and China’s motivation for adopting the same approach in the Arctic and Antar

Not just India but others too are re-assessing the China threat and altering their stance accordingly

With the enhancement of power in the Indo-Pacific region, China is attempting to create new constructs in the security arena which will be exclusively for Asians and it will bestow primacy to themselves.

Trump has been making certain goodwill gestures, from inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to his inauguration ceremony to providing a high-level reception to China's special representative and Vice President Han Zheng through US Vice President JD Vance.

Tensions in Taiwan Strait are an allegory for the Sino-American joust to dominate tomorrow's tech world

An Indian maritime expert feels China, which had increased its defence budget several-fold in order to retain or recover its territories in the disputed area, is also cleverly diffusing the situation by having joint military exercises with countries around the area to prevent them from banding together against its claims.