January-Feburary 2019
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An India-China Economic and Cultural Council publication January-February 2019 • ` 100 First recipient of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award from mainland China Chinese Tourism to India: Efforts Made For Growth, Challenges That Remain Tian Xin Dr. Das Bikash Kali Vilas Kale China, India must work From student in China Tiger Country: Vidarbha hard to attract more to brand ambassador waits for Chinese tourists from each other for India and Puducherry tourists Rajni Shaleen Chopra Nazia Vasi Kiki Zhang Incredible India: From Namaste to Ni Hao: Chinna Chinna Aasai: Challenges, opportunities The growth of Mandarin Learning and teaching for tourism growth language in the Indian Tamil in China consciousness ICBC MUMBAI BRANCH ICBC Mumbai Branch, established in We are confident that, with our September 2011, is the first and only world-wide network of ICBC Group and bank from Chinese mainland in India so our profound understanding of Indian far. Regarding services as the very foun- and Chinese markets, we are best posi- dation of development, we are making tioned to serve business in both coun- every effort to build a “Bank of the First tries to foster bi-lateral investments and Choice” to our existing and potential trades. clients. Privileged with a full license in India, we are now providing a compre- hensive range of financial products and Office Address: services including Corporate Banking, 801,8th Floor, A Wing,ONE BKC,C-66, G Retail Banking, Investment Banking and Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Band- Trade Finance, etc. ra(E), Mumbai-400 051 Corporate Banking I(Chinese Enterprises):+91-22-71110323 Corporate Banking II(Indian Enterprises):+91-22-71110335 Investiment Banking: +91-22-71110399 Trade Finance: +91-22-71110331 E-mail: [email protected] www.icbc.co.in www.icec-council.org China’s space exploration programs generate global interest he space race is getting interesting. Nasa’s New Horizons Vol 6, Issue 2, Jan-Feb 2019 probe successfully carried out a flyby of an icy world some 6.5bn km (4bn miles) away. India announced that EDITOR-IN-CHIEF it will send a three-member team into space for the first Mohammed Saqib T time in 2022. And China, a relative late-bloomer in the world EXECUTIVE EDITOR of space exploration, became the first country to successfully Rajni Shaleen Chopra land a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the Moon. China has EDITORIAL BOARD announced plans to build a new space station, along with a base on the Moon, and Mani Shankar Aiyar also conduct missions to Mars. Calling it a step in the path of the country’s “national PS Deodhar rejuvenation”, China has committed billions of dollars to its “space dream”. Prof Haixiao Song Globally, nations have regarded space exploration and their space expansion Dilip Cherian programs as markers of both hard power and soft power. BBC News spoke of the Shaodong Wang Amir Ullah Khan classic triad that has driven investment in space for about 50 years. It said China has been open about the value of space exploration in terms of increasing its standing EDITORIAL TEAM on the world stage. Irfan Alam Audrey Tso The BBC report quoted Prof Keith Hayward, a fellow of the UK’s Royal Aishita Shukla Aeronautical Society, who said China is driven by the same motivations as the US, Russia and others. “First, demand from the military, without which you would not DESIGN Manoj Raikwar have had half the money going in. Second, as a good way to show off. You could say that this is the space Silk Road - it demonstrates China is a force to be reckoned OWNED, PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY with. Third, hitherto untapped resources which have the potential to make whoever Mohammed Saqib finds them wealthy.” Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers In 2006, Prof Ouyang Ziyuan, one of China’s top scientists, told the state’s of India under RNI No: DELENG/2011/43423 official newspaper People’s Daily, “Lunar exploration is a reflection of a country’s comprehensive national power. It is significant for raising our international prestige PUBLISHED FROM A-82, Zakir Bagh, New Delhi - 110025 and increasing our people’s cohesion.” The significance of China’s space ambitions has been recognized globally. Writing ADDRESS FOR ALL CORRESPONDENCE in The Diplomat in December 2018, senior analyst and author Dr. Namrata Goswami India-China Chronicle observed that there was clear direction in China’s space expansion program. She B-59 (GF), South Extension - II, New Delhi - 110049 wrote, “China’s achievements in space follow an incremental strategy of developing Telefax: 011-46550348 its space capacity, first securing the ability to send humans into outer space, followed by robotic missions that both enable space science and build its capacity for long- PRINTED AT term presence, then launching its permanent space station, to be followed by deep Aleena Prints space exploration and exploitation. Toward this effort, the Chinese Communist Mr. Naved Rasheed Block Z-II, 378, Shahadra, Delhi-110053 Party (CCP) has committed its resources and leadership focus on building both Mobile:+91-9582345886 capacity (civil and military) and legitimacy for its outer space missions. For China, E-mail : [email protected] space, like its engagements in the Antarctic continent, offers both the possibility for science as well as future resources from the moon and asteroids.” All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole Dr Goswami was astute in calling out the prejudice of the Western media towards or in part without written China. In her report on China’s space program, she wrote in The Diplomat that permission is prohibited. Western media coverage tends to ignore or deliberately downplay the communist nation’s space achievements. She noted that China’s strategy is to establish long- All advertising enquiries, comments term mission goals for outer space, incrementally build its space capacity and and feedback are welcome at institutions and demonstrate technological prowess. [email protected] A question oft asked in the media is whether we now have a space race between the USA and China, and whether it is a matter of concern. Wendy Whitman Cobb, The information contained in this magazine has been reviewed for a space policy researcher and associate professor of political science at Cameron accuracy and is deemed reliable but University in the USA, wrote in Pacific Standard that her answer would be ‘yes’ and is not necessarily complete or ‘no’. “Even if China’s rise heralds a new space race, not all consequences will be guaranteed by the Editor. The views expressed in this digest are solely that negative,” she concluded. of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC). Editor-in-Chief Mohammed Saqib Anguish against China for support to Pakistan on Jaish chief Masood Azhar ndians admire China for its phenomenal rise, and also its growing influence and power on the world stage. Chinese investment in various sectors of the Indian economy and strong trade links are appreciated in India. But there are thorns in this cozy relationship. Indians Iget suspicious about the Chinese Army’s incursions across the border. The Doklam crisis brought these fears center-stage. The terror strike by Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed, which killed 40 Indian paramilitary police and injured many others in Pulwama in Kashmir, has impacted public sentiment about China. The anguish against China is because of its consistent opposition to list the UN-proscribed Pakistan-based terror group’s chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. The Pulwama attack took place on February 14. An Op-Ed carried by Global Times on February 17 placed the onus of terrorism on the victim. Global Times is owned by People’s Daily, an official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. “Beijing has reiterated its stand several times that New Delhi should provide solid facts and proofs for banning Azhar… Without solid evidence, India has long accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorist attacks by Jaish-e-Mohammed and other militant groups and China of providing uncritical support for Pakistan,” said the op-ed in Global Times. On February 20, The Indian Express (IE), one of India’s top newspapers, carried a report that Pakistan has been sitting on “actionable intelligence” against Jaish-e-Mohammad for years, and has taken no action against Masood Azhar. After thorough probes, Azhar was named by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) in two key investigations: the 2001 Parliament and the 2016 Pathankot attacks. Two Red Corner notices were issued against Azhar by the Interpol, first in 2004 for the attack on Parliament and in 2016 for his role in the Pathankot airbase attack, said IE. New Delhi’s attempts to list Azhar at the UNSC have been repeatedly blocked by China. After the attack on the IAF base in Pathankot on January 2016, India proposed to designate Azhar as a global terrorist. China intervened at Pakistan’s behest and placed a technical hold on India’s move in March and again in October 2016. It subsequently used its veto power to block the proposal in December 2016, a day before the technical hold ended. In January 2017, China again employed a technical hold and blocked a proposal put forward by the US, the UK and France to designate Azhar as a terrorist. India had started pushing for Azhar’s listing since 2008-09, after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and even then China had put a technical hold. A report in IE said that in blocking global action against Azhar, Beijing wants to protect its ‘all weather’ ally in South Asia and its business interests in CPEC.