Cooperative Federalism Essential for India’s China Policy

Balanced India-China economic relations cannot happen without balanced centre-state relations in India

Indian Foreign Secretary’s Visit to Beijing Underlines New Delhi’s Limited Options

Originally published as ‘Vikram Misri’s Beijing visit underlines India’s limited options’, Deccan Herald, 4 February 2025. At the end of January, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited China in the latest step in an unfolding thaw in the bilateral relationship. It should be clear, however, from the statements put out by each side on the meeting …

For China, Age is More than a Number

Originally published as ‘For China, Age is More than a Number’, India’s World, 9 December 2024. On one of his state visits to Egypt in the 1990s, then Chinese President Jiang Zemin is said to have discovered that the Egyptians showcased their civilization as being 5,000 years old. On his return, he ordered that Chinese …

Doval-Wang SR Talks: Back to the Grind

Originally published as, ‘Two steps forward, one step back’, The Indian Express, 21 December 2024. p.11. Published online as ‘On India-China ties, Delhi takes one step forward, two steps back’. While Indian statements on the bilateral relationship with China are exercises in brevity, Chinese statements are more expansive by comparison. Taken together, however, they provide …

New India-China Patrolling Agreement: More Questions from Kazan

Originally published as, ‘Path to normalisation of India-China ties not easy’, Deccan Herald, 26 October 2024. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held “their first proper bilateral meeting at delegation level in nearly five years” on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia.[1] Coming in the wake of an announcement earlier …

A Patrolling Agreement and Some Questions

Originally published as ‘An agreement, some questions’ The Indian Express, 23 October 2024. p.11. Published online as ‘India-China agreement is welcome — but we don’t know enough’. Indian Foreign Secretary Vikrim Misri announced on Monday that India and China had reached “an agreement … on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control…leading to disengagement …

Takeaways from Xi’s Congress

Originally published at The Indian Express, 24 October 2022. p.14. Published online as ‘Xi Jinping’s Congress: What are the implications for China, the world, and India?’ What are the main takeaways  from the CPC Congress?  The CPC’s 20th Congress underlined General Secretary Xi Jinping’s role not just as the core of the Central Committee but also …

A Third Term For Xi Jinping Holds Little Assurance For India

Originally published at BQ Prime, 22 October 2022. India has several reasons to pay close attention to the ongoing 20th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).  As a neighbour to China and as a country of similar size of population and length of history, it would be natural for India to assume …

എല്ലാം നയിക്കുന്ന പാർട്ടി

Co-authored with Anand Parappadi Krishnan and originally published as ‘എല്ലാം നയിക്കുന്ന പാർട്ടി; ചൈനീസ് പാർട്ടി കോൺഗ്രസിന് കൊടിയേറുമ്പോൾ’, 24 News, 15 October 2022. ചൈനീസ് കമ്മ്യുണിസ്റ്റ് പാർട്ടിയുടെ (സി.സി.പി) ഇരുപതാം ദേശീയ കോൺഗ്രസ് ഒക്ടോബർ 16-ന് ആരംഭിക്കും. ചൈനയുടെ സാമ്പത്തിക-രാഷ്ട്രീയ കരുത്ത് വർധിച്ചതോടെ, ഓരോ അഞ്ച് വർഷത്തെ ഇടവേളയിലും നടക്കുന്ന ഈ സമ്മേളനത്തിന്റെ പ്രാധാന്യവും ഉയർന്നിട്ടുണ്ട്. ഈ സമ്മേളനങ്ങളും അതിൽ ഓരോന്നിലും ജനറൽ സെക്രട്ടറിമാർ അവതരിപ്പിക്കുന്ന രാഷ്ട്രീയ റിപ്പോർട്ടും പുറം ലോകത്തിന് …