Key Markers and Trends in Chinese Foreign Policy in South Asia

Abstract

The 19th Party Congress in October 2017 and the 13th National People’s Congress in March 2018 together mark a radical shift in Chinese foreign policy under Xi Jinping in terms of its national identity, grand strategic vision and the nature of its international identification with the world. China is finally shedding its old hesitation and staking its claim to a leadership role in the international order. This transition can also be seen in China’s striving for a stable Asia under its leadership. This chapter argues that although it is East Asia that is receiving international attention, with reference to China’s foreign policy assertion under Xi, South Asia has been equally affected by the heat of the transition, if not more so. China-South Asia relations have generally been studied within the localised contexts of individual bilateral relationships or India-China relations. The point here is that South Asia is also equally a testing ground for China’s grand-strategic vision and ambitions under Xi. Although the Chinese shadow has always fallen across South Asia, in recent years, Beijing has pushed its interests in the region more vigorously especially through the BRI. The chapter analyses the developing nature of China-South Asia relations and its implications for India-China bilateral relations.

This chapter forms part of the author’s project “Foreign Relations and Security in Xi Jinping’s ‘ Chinese Dream ’” and a revised and updated version will appear in the project publication. The chapter has evolved from the author’s paper “‘Chinese Wisdom’ in South Asia: Implications for India -China Relations”, which was presented in absentia at The 60th American Association for Chinese Studies (AACS) Conference (Social, Economic, and Political Change in China and Taiwan ), University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, 5–7 October 2018.