Author: Manish Chand

Hello Hangzhou: With NSG on mind, PM Modi braces for crucial meeting with Xi Jinping

- by Manish Chand

“Hello Hangzhou,” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the residents of this picturesque Chinese city as he braces for a “constructive” summit of the world’s major economies and a crucial bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping amid a stalemate over India’s membership of the NSG.
Hordes of prominent Indians living in Hangzhou greeted Mr Modi as he entered Hotel Sheraton Grand around 10.30 pm (local time) to begin a two-day visit to China. Dressed in flowing kurta pyjama, Mr Modi looked fresh and invigorated from his successful trip to Hanoi where he announced $500 million assistance for Vietnam’s military modernisation. There are hardly 300-odd Indians in Hangzhou, but they made their presence felt as they beat drums and chanted “Modi, Modi” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai” as the prime minister went around shaking hands with them.
It will be a busy Sunday for PM Modi as he begins the day with what is clearly the most significant diplomatic engagement during his China trip – a meeting with the leader of the world’s second largest economy, who holds the key to India’s membership of the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group. The discussions will focus on recent irritants in bilateral ties with the thrust on restoring strategic equilibrium in this sensitive bilateral relationship that is prone to get bogged down in misunderstandings and the narrative of rivalry and competition. Mr Modi is expected to push the Chinese leader for a rethink on India’s membership of the NSG, which controls the global flow of nuclear material and equipment. India had singled out China as the sole spoiler for its failed bid to get into the NSG at the grouping’s plenary in Seoul in June. China had insisted on India signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a precondition for its entry into the NSG, which was a clear deal-breaker and not acceptable to New Delhi as it regards the NPT discriminatory that divides the world into the nuclear haves and have-nots.

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In City of Poets & Dreamers, China unfurls its global ambitions in G20 colours

- by Manish Chand

Amid blue skies, closed factories and schools, the iconic West Lake radiates serenity amid the frenzied security drill and hubbub of international diplomacy. With China, anything is possible, and the sheer scale of ambition is staggering as China hosts its first summit of the world’s major and emerging economies in the eastern city of Hangzhou, the refuge of poets and dreamers and now the hub of entrepreneurs, innovators like the legendary Jack Ma of Alibaba and a symbol of China’s global aspirations.
As world leaders touch down in Hangzhou for the 11th G20 summit, all eyes will be on China, which is aspiring to lead the push for global growth and reform of the international financial architecture that remains heavily tilted in favour of developed countries despite the tectonic shift of economic gravity from the west to the rest. The focus will be on the two Asian giants – India and China – which have defied the global slowdown and are still growing rapidly, emerging as beacons of hope in times of crisis.
For China’s President Xi Jinping, the G20 summit in Hangzhou has a personal connection and emotive resonance. President Xi has fond memories of living in the city for five years where he served as the Communist Party chief of Zhejiang province. Hangzhou has transformed since Xi’s early days into a hub of high-tech manufacturing and innovation, and it’s therefore fitting that Mr Xi has chosen China’s most beautiful city, a blend of the traditional and modern, as a symbol of China’s surging global profile as he hosts what he hopes will be milestone G20 summit in initiating a new phase of international economic cooperation to restore global growth and revamp the archaic global governance architecture. If he succeeds, the fabled blue skies of Hangzhou and the glowing West Lake, celebrated by poets Bai Juyi and Su Dongpo, will be remembered for offering a fresh burst of inspiration for reconfiguring the world order. Read more….

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G20 in China: B20 raises the bar for global e-economy

- by Manish Chand

HANGZHOU (China): China is poised to leave its imprint on the G20 process at the summit of major economies in the scenic city of Hangzhou on September 4-5. The 11th G20 summit aims at restoring global growth through new policy initiatives and enhanced macro-economic coordination among G20 economies. Ahead of the summit, nearly 800 business leaders of G20 countries will meet over the weekend and present a spectrum of ambitious initiatives to revitalise the global economy, which include developing a multilateral trading system, promoting green financing and creating a global electronic trade platform, known as the eWTP.
Fast-tracking the World Trade Organisation’s Trade Facilitation Agreement will be a major focus area at the G20 summit, which will be attended by not just the leaders of G20 economies, but also a host of other countries, such as Egypt, Chad, Senegal, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Spain, Laos and Thailand. India had ratified TFA in April. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Hangzhou for the G20 summit, and is expected to push for curbing trade protectionism and enhancing global growth through innovative initiatives.
The proposed construction of the eWTP is set to be a game-changer in accelerating global e-trade and the development of internet economy, a major focus area at the 11th G20 summit.
The eWTP is the brainchild of Jack Ma, chair of the B20’s SME development taskforce and chairman of the multi-billionaire dollar Alibaba Group. “The idea of an electronic world trade platform, eWTP, a mechanism for public-private dialogue in the development of crossborder e-trade, will improve the current trade framework and help small and medium-sized enterprises, developing countries, women and the young generation participate in the global economy,” Jack Ma. Read more…

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Why PM’s Modi visit to Vietnam matters & Why China will be watching

- by Manish Chand

With China closely watching amid the ongoing ferment in the South China Sea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will head to Vietnam, the first stop of his extended overseas trip which will impart a greater strategic traction to India’s Act East policy at the dual ASEAN and EAS summits in Laos.
The importance of Mr Modi’s maiden visit to Vietnam, an emerging ASEAN economy and a crucial plank in the maritime stability in the region, can’t be overstated. Over the years, Vietnam has morphed into a trusted strategy ally of India due to a host of reasons, with China’s assertive posturing in South China Sea driving the two countries in a closer embrace.
PM Modi’s visit to Vietnam will put the spotlight on an intersection of India’s Act East Policy and Hanoi’s Act West Policy as they deepen their military and economic partnership. Building upon the ongoing transformation of the defence relationship, one can expect India to play a bigger role in Vietnam’s military modernisation. In the military sphere, there is a convergence of interests and a demand-supply fit which will ensure that the relationship keeps growing.
Moving beyond merely strategic calculations, what imparts an emotional resonance to India-Vietnam relations is deeply felt solidarity and connections of heart and mind, as exemplified in spiritual linkages of Buddhism and the enduring popularity of Indian films among the Vietnamese people. Instead of getting lost in a strategic maze, the two countries are rightfully focusing on enhancing people-to-people bonds through travel, tourism and cultural contacts.
Taking strategy is no excuse for not seeing the country with your own eyes. It’s time to open the unusual door, see more and open new vistas in this mutually invigorating partnership. Read more…

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Logistics pact to tighten India-US strategic embrace

- by Manish Chand

In the emerging alphabet of India-US relations, another acronym LEMOA has been added as the two countries signed a landmark logistics exchange agreement that will enable their militaries to access each other’s military supplies and refuelling capabilities through ports and military bases.
The agreement was signed in Washington DC on August 29, a day before India and the US hold their second strategic and commercial dialogue in New Delhi. The pact is a leap of faith for India as the long-negotiated pact was bogged down in apprehensions in India regarding infringement of the country’s sovereignty in the military sphere. The inking of the pact underscores the Modi government’s design to risk political pressure to deepen military and strategic ties with the world’s most powerful country.
India’s Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his US counterpart Ashton Carter lauded the signing of the bilateral ‘Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement’ (52940157), saying the pact will facilitate opportunities for “practical engagement and exchange”.

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A new symphony: NSG tops agenda at India-US dialogue

- by Manish Chand

Ahead of the last meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama in China, India and the US will hold their second strategic and commercial dialogue in New Delhi, which will hopefully bring to closure some key issues on the bilateral agenda and map the way ahead.
The Strategic Dialogue will be co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Commercial Dialogue will be co-chaired by India’s Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. The August 30 talks, which will be followed by the Modi-Obama meeting in on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, will cap more than a decade of blossoming of the India-US relations, which were transformed by the pathbreaking India-US nuclear deal in the summer of 2005.
With the bilateral relationship on a firm footing, the focus will be logically on the unfinished agenda during the last few months of the Obama presidency. For India, getting full membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group tops the agenda as only a strong push from the US can swing around fence-sitters and sceptics.
In the end, with so much going on between the world’s largest democracies, PM Modi and President Obama will surely have a lot to commend each other for bringing the India-US relationship this far. Hesitations of history are passe, and “a new symphony is in place” as PM Modi said memorably in his speech to the US Congress. It’s time to play on, raise the bar and aim big…

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Amid strains in ties, Modi to visit China, Xi to visit India

- by Manish Chand

Amid recent strains in relations between the two Asian giants over a host of issues, including New Delhi’s stalled membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, India and China are preparing the ground for the visits of their leaders to each other’s country this year.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit China for the 11th G20 summit of major economies in the scenic city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, on September 4-5. Mr Modi is expected to hold bilateral talks with China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit. This is the first time China is hosting the G20 summit of the world’s top economies which is expected to break “a new path” for global economic growth.
President Xi will be visiting India for the 8th BRICS summit India will host in the coastal city of Goa October 5-6.
South China Sea & NSG
Against this backdrop, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be in India on August 13 to firm up a substantive agenda for the two-way visits by the leaders of the two neighbouring countries.
The next few weeks are, therefore, going to see intense diplomatic manouevering and a possible trade-off between the two Asian neighbours to ensure that trust deficit does not sharpen between them over the NSG issue, impacting the larger relationship.

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Amid souring China ties and South China Sea churn, PM Modi to visit Vietnam

- by Manish Chand

Amid China’s hardening posture on the South China Sea ruling by an international tribunal, senior officials of India and Vietnam have held strategic talks in New Delhi to bolster their military and economic relations, which could pave the way for a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Hanoi early next month.
The volatile situation around the South China Sea in the wake of The Hague tribunal’s ruling rejecting Beijing’s “historic claims” over the disputed water body and the so-called nine-dash line figured prominently in discussions.
The discussions in New Delhi saw a striking convergence of perspectives between the two countries on the South China Sea issue.
The visit by PM Modi to Hanoi will take place at a time when the India-China relations are under strain following China’s stalling of India’s bid for the NSG membership and India denying extension of visas to three Chinese journalists working for state-run Xinhua news agency. Mr Modi’s visit to Hanoi, as and when it happens, will be closely watched in Beijing, which has resented growing proximity between New Delhi and Hanoi, and sees India as engaged in a containment game with the US, Japan, Australia and friendly ASEAN countries.

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NSG support, stronger defence ties signal a new era in India-South Africa ties

- by Manish Chand

Ending weeks of speculation, South Africa has declared support for India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a key takeaway for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Africa’s economic powerhouse.
Getting the support of South Africa, a non-proliferation hawk which renounced its nuclear programme decades ago, was on top of Modi’s agenda in Pretoria.
Modi’s wide-ranging talks with South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma on July 9 firmed up a substantive agenda for galvanising India-South Africa relationship across the spectrum, with special focus on collaboration in defence, value-added manufacturing and information technology. Taking a long-range view of strategic partnership, Zuma ended ambivalence by conveying his country’s support for India’s entry into the NSG, which will enable greater access for India to civil nuclear technologies.

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As PM eyes new horizons in Africa, China factor looms

- by Manish Chand

When was the last time an Indian prime minister travelled to four African countries in one stretch? It’s a tough one, and is sure to evoke a long pause, followed by silence and murmurs of can’t remember. This question has been asked with a tinge of anguish many a time in Africa circles, but with Prime Minister Narendra Modi heading to Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania early this week, it’s going to be replaced, mercifully, by what’s next.

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