China Connect

It’s China’s moment as BRICS Bank gets ready for launch

- by India Writes Network

It seems to be a golden period for China with yet another non-Bretton Woods institution challenging the West-dominated international financial institutions which have controlled the global financial system post 1945. Two days after 50 countries signed on to become members of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Chinese Parliament has ratified the creation of the New Development Bank of BRICS countries. The parliaments of India and Russia have already ratified the NDB, which will be headquartered in Shanghai, and will have an Indian as the CEO of the newly created institution.
With the setting up of these two banks, China has scored a point against the US and the West which have been ignoring the BRICS’ appeal for greater voting rights in the IMF and reform of global financial governance system. The NDB’s shareholding is on an equitable basis, with China, India, Brazil and South Africa contributing 20 per cent of the start-up capital of $50 billion, with a goal to reach a capitalization of US$100 billion.
The formal launch of NDB and AIIB is set to recast global financial landscape. Some will contend that 2015 seems to be the year of China when it became a game changer by hosting two new multilateral banks of the global South.

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From hometown diplomacy to home truths: China blocks India’s UN move against Pakistan

- by Manish Chand

Call it home truths, if you will. After much-hyped hometown diplomacy by the leaders of India and China, the first time at Sabarmati Asharam in Gandhinagar and then at Xian, the city of famed Terracotta Warriors, home truths are staring New Delhi as it engages Beijing. Barely weeks after Chinese President Xi Jinping rolled out the red carpet for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, conjuring up a seductive narrative of major power relations and all that sweet talk of an Asian Century, Beijing is now drawing its own red lines. And this red line is definitely a red rag to New Delhi.
Belying Beijing’s talk of jointly countering terrorism, the Chinese representative has blocked India’s move in the UN demanding action against Pakistan for releasing the Mumbai mayhem mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi from jail on the ground that India has not provided “sufficient information”. The legal subterfuge deployed by China to shield Pakistan’s action (or lack of action against the architect of 26/11) reinforces the red line drawn by Beijing in its relations with New Delhi. Put simply, it means that China is ready to pump in $20 billion into India, build industrial parks and smart infrastructure, but if it means going against its all-weather acolyte Pakistan

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Yulin dog eating carnival outrage: The politics of food

- by India Writes Network

There has been a major outcry for banning the Yulin Festival, a dog-and-cat meat eating carnival held annually on the occasion of the summer solstice on June 21st in the city of Yulin in China. Many gruesome images of dogs and cats jam packed in cages, being cooked in stewing pots and hung in slaughter houses have been circulated on social media to rouse public opinion against the ‘ghastly’ tradition.
Whilst the ban may or may not actually take place (China had earlier banned a dog eating festival in 2011), and the uproar has raised legitimate concerns about animal torture and human health risks (such as rabies), it may be helpful to look at the issue as placed within some larger debates- animal rights vs. humans rights, perceptions of barbarism in oriental cultures through ethnocentric norms and relevance of (‘outdated’) culture in today’s modern times- which constitute the politics of food.
Different cultures have varying conceptions of what can and cannot be eaten. In India the pervasive caste system bans consumption of meat for the upper castes, but Dalit communities have long eaten meat, even beef, as a source of protein.

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Chinese envoy bets on ‘Make in Chindia,’ signals a new phase in business ties

- by India Writes Network

Underlining an emerging synergy between ‘Make in India’ and ‘Made in China’, China’s Ambassador to India Le Yucheng has projected a new template of “Make in Chindia”, which envisages closer collaboration in manufacturing and businesses between the two Asian giants.

Speaking at the China-India Industrial Cooperation Seminar, organised by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (FICCI) in New Delhi on June 10, Mr Le said that China has recently rolled out “Made in China 2025” campaign, featuring innovation and high-end manufacturing among others, which he said was compatible and complementary with India’s Prime Minister Modi-led “Make in India” strategy.

Building upon the prime minister’s visit to China last month, which resulted in the signing of 26 business agreements worth $22 billion, Mr Le said that China was looking to invest in India in a range of projects, including manufacturing, human-resource, real estate and infrastructure development, smart city projects and railways.

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