11960 results found
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
Mohamed Muizzu is helping Beijing expand its presence in the Indian Ocean
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
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has undergone many changes since Xi Jinping became general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2013. Efforts at modernising the PLA have been conducted in earnest for the past 10 years through the overhaul of the organisation and the introduction of latest technologies to make it battle-ready. This paper describes these capability-related and institutional changes in China’s military, wh
Since Xi Jinping became general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2013, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has witnessed an accelerated modernisation drive. Following the 2015-16 organisational reforms, the CPC further standardised its services-level force structure and upgraded its military doctrine, combat capabilities, and weapons systems. This report analyses recent improvements in the structure, including the creation of t
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
Military modernisation was the fourth and last of Deng Xiaoping’s ‘Four Modernisations’. Even before the third modernisation got underway—that of science and technology—China began using commercial technologies to advance its military capabilities. This strategy has gained salience since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012 and made it the state’s key goal to transform the PLA into a “world-class military”. Military-Civil Fusi
Increasingly, the Chinese are realising that keeping their currency undervalued is not a viable option. The end game as far as the exchange rate management in China is concerned should look towards establishing a less controlled and more market oriented exchange rate-one that is determined by actual demand and supply factors.
The white paper is an amalgamation of past experiences as well as the role that China will play in the global order in the coming years.
China’s nuclear weapons arsenal has grown and modernised over the recent years, and current estimates say the country has 350 operational warheads ready for delivery, over 248 land-based ballistic missiles, and 72 sea-based ballistic missiles. China also has 20 nuclear gravity bombs and additional warheads intended to be armed on land- and sea-based missiles. This brief outlines a history of China’s nuclear weapons programme, scrutini
The oil deal could be a fundamental test for the future of Afghanistan-China cooperation
China wants to move its manufacturing up the value chain to become a producer and exporter of high-value goods, for which Europe can be the best market.
Despite continuing talks between India and China, military preparations clearly are continuing, too.
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
For China, it is the problems in what it considers to be its core interests which are becoming difficult to handle.
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
शार्प पॉवर (sharp power) - एक देश की सांस्कृतिक, शैक्षणिक व्यवस्था और मीडिया बर्ताव में तिकड़म का उपयोग करते हुए परिवर्तन की कोशिश करते हुए दूसरे देश को प्रभावित करने का प्रयास - चीन
China finds that its trustworthiness among ordinary Aussies has plummeted from 52 per cent to just 23 per cent in two years.
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
Beijing’s Southeast Asia outreach may complicate the U.S.’s efforts to build a coalition to isolate or deter China economically.
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
Restricting access to strategic resources is a classic statecraft strategy that China seems to be perfecting
India's response to the strategic minerals challenge has been to improve domestic capacity.
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.
As PM Modi attends the G7 Summit, China watches closely, concerned over rare-earth diplomacy and India's balancing act between the West and Global South amid growing geopolitical unease.
China taking primary ownership to try and mend Afghanistan-Pakistan ties can bog Beijing down in a region and conflict where it has limited experience
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.
India needs to get a lot more clarity on what it expects from China. For all the economic engagement that India may have with China, it should not be under the illusion of its impact on the overall India-China relations.
Disruptive communication technologies are helping reshape global dynamics by empowering marginalised populations and prioritising public opinion over traditional military hard power. At the same time, however, these technologies are also creating opportunities for groups to clandestinely and remotely influence public sentiment and monitor, control, and assert their preferred narratives. This brief discusses the case of China, which has been worki
The entry of StarTimes into the Kenyan market in 2012 expanded digital TV access through affordable packages, improved media infrastructure, and a focus on local content. However, its operations have raised concerns over media sovereignty and China’s growing soft power in Africa. StarTimes’ programming promotes Chinese culture, subtly shaping public perception and fostering pro-China narratives. While the company continues to dominate digital
China’s communist party has survived where others have failed — a testament to its capacity to adapt and reinvent itself with the times. Mao’s successors put ideology aside and focused instead on economic growth. Yet today, under Xi Jinping’s leadership, there is much lip-service paid to the ideology of the communist past, even while key communist principles like collectivism are actively undermined. With a slowing down economy, communi
Tibet and the Dalai Lama's status continue to worry the Chinese. India's stated policy that Tibet is part of China notwithstanding, Chinese feel that India has a hidden agenda. The fact that Lobsang Sangay was invited to Modi's swearing-in has made the Chinese nervous.
India paid a high price for failing to anticipate the Sino-Pak nuclear nexus in the 1970s and 1980s. It is erring again by neglecting the potential for a maritime alliance between China and Pakistan that could severely constrain India's freedom of action in the Indian Ocean.
Apprehensions of China gaining an advantage in the tech rivalry through unfair means weigh heavily on US threat assessments.
India’s vast coastline and rich marine biodiversity offer immense potential to advance a US$100-billion blue economy by 2030. A challenge to this potential is that India generates 6-8 million tonnes of underutilised marine biomass waste annually, comprising fish waste, shells, seaweed, and beach wrack. This paper explores a circular blue economy approach—with a waste-to-wealth model at its core—to convert marine biomass waste into high-valu
At a conference on "Civil Society and Nuclear Weapons Policy", organised by ORF and Chatham House in Bangkok, there was a general consensus among participants that the emphasis should be given on raising awareness on the various hazardous impacts of the nuclear weapons explosion, especially in the nuclear weapons states.
Cost and time over-runs have reportedly led to losses of approximately Rs29,000 crore in the DRDO; some 10 projects have been delayed for over five years. The Armed Forces continue to be woefully short of modern weapon systems, ammunition and a vast range of critical equipment.
Even today, renewable energy sources definitely cannot replace fossil fuel that is getting scarce over time. Given this theoretical underpinning, why do we have a negative price for crude oil?
Climate change has added to the enormity of India’s food security challenges. While the relationship between climate change and food security is complex, most studies focus on one dimension of food security, i.e., food availability. This paper provides an overview of the impact of climate change on India’s food security, keeping in mind three dimensions — availability, access, and absorption. It finds that ensuring food security in the face
The relative prosperity being recorded by the countries of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)[1] is being confronted by multidimensional challenges brought about by climate change, including in public health. This brief examines the role of regional cooperation in mitigating these negative consequences of global warming. Analysing the national health policies of BIMSTEC countries, this bri
The climate narrative is beginning to exert itself in the development processes of poor countries. The impact of climate negotiations, and green capitalism that is rearing its head, are some elements that will define climate and security for India and other developing countries.
