Xi & South Asia: What's New? What's Not?

A closer look at the recently concluded Xi-Modi informal summit

- Prof Ujjwal K Chowdhury

From October 9 to 14, Chinese President Xi Jinping, decidedly one of the most powerful top two persons in the world with an assured lifelong Presidency in his country, had his diary this way: two days with Pak PM Imran Khan in China, two days with Indian PM in Mamallapuram (India), and two days with Nepali PM Oli in Kathmandu.

And in the process he reiterated Sino-Pak bromance (‘iron friends’), kept India guessing on possibilities ‘in the realm of near future’ and cemented his goal of making Nepal a gateway for China and a showcase of Chinese ‘belt and road project’. Superb diplomacy by the man who speaks just one language, runs China with a single-minded authoritarian doggedness, considers the USA as his only rival, and is determined to leave an authoritarian stamp all across the world and enter every household of the world with Chinese goods which are cheap but good for a limited tenure.

It is almost a post-modern state capitalist imperialism of sorts he aims for whereby Chinese goods dominates the world market; China out-competes all in pricing, cheap labour and technological novelty or replication; and Chinese military power ensures its strategic advantage in all its disputes with some 23 nations in Asia.

Beijing sandwiched Narendra Modi-Xi Jinping’s informal summit between Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s yet another tour of China and Xi’s first visit to Nepal. China, at present, has Pakistan practically in its stride and is trying to win over Nepal with huge investments in infrastructure - something that the Himalayan nation lacks. India might not like it but doesn’t have many options, particularly at a time when economic slowdown has tied the hands of the Modi government.