India-China standoff termed threatening for GB & CPEC

PESHAWAR: The China Study Centre, University of Peshawar, organized a webinar on “Exploring China and India Relations in Global, Regional and Bilateral Perspectives in 2020” on Tuesday.

In his welcome remarks, Prof Dr Zahid Anwar, Director, China Study Centre, said that China and India are two important countries in the Asian continent and the two most populous states in the world as well.

He said there is a need to objectively analyze the nature of the relationship between China and India.

The director said unprecedented changes are taking place globally and regionally and this is high time to discuss this important relationship in the context of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Trade War, Indo-Pacific Initiative and other mega projects.

The webinar was attended online by a number of experts, scholars and professors from different parts of Pakistan and China. A number of students also participated in the webinar.

Those who shared their views on the occasion included Dr Talat Shabir, Director, China Pakistan Study Centre, Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, Dr Ghulam Ali, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Hasan Daud Butt, Chief Executive Officer, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Information Technology, Dr Minhas Majeed, Department of International Relations, University of Peshawar and others.

Dr Minhas Majeed said that the USA was trying to contain China and there was the convergence of interests on this point between USA and India.

She spoke about China-India standoff in Himalaya and its implications for regional security.

Indian aggressive moves in that region raise concern for the security of Gilgit-Baltistan and CPEC, she added. China has an upper hand in this confrontation and in case India curtails its trade with China, it will further harm its economy, she said.

Dr Talat Shabir said the current global political system was led by the USA and in this situation both China and US were furthering their own interests.

He said the USA considered India important for containing China globally and regionally.

“China is pursuing the policy of win-win and economic development. China and India should launch a dialogue to resolve their disputes, he suggested.

Dr Ghulam Ali, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, said wisdom would be required to contain the conflict between China and India in the long run.

Hasan Daud Butt said in 2019 trade between China and India was around $90 billion. He said the industrial setup in India has not taken the shape the way they wanted especially under the Modi government.

Hasan Daud Butt said Covid-19 showed the vulnerability of India where its economy is sliding down with much faster pace and that its inspiration and aspiration to become a military or economic power is also going down at the same speed.

On the other hand the Chinese economy is rising in the post-COVID era. He said that it would be a momentous mistake by India to escalate the situation in the Himalaya.