Yet, it seems that the two sides have fallen into a circle of standoff — talks — standoff — talks, again and again. Against this backdrop, it is believed that three phenomena in India should be paid attention to. Firstly, the Indian government has lost its grip on restraining certain forces of the military. Since the conflict first started in May, China and India have held many talks. On June 10, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted at a regular press conference that "through diplomatic and military channels, China and India have recently had effective communication and reached agreement on properly handling the situation in the west section of the China-India boundary." However, on June 15, the situation sharply worsened: Indian troops illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and deliberately launched provocative attacks that directly resulted in the bloody brawl of the Galwan Valley.  It is hard to imagine that the Indian army's moves did not have the acquiescence or support of high-level officials. Indian front-line troops' provocative actions obviously violated the consensus reached by the two governments. It should be expected that this force will continue to repeatedly disturb China-India border issues. Secondly, there are profound divergences over China policy within India. Taking a look at the statements of India's different departments on border-related incidents, it is obvious that their attitudes and positions are quite different. Indeed, different departments have their own interests, so their actions are oftentimes not coordinated. Among them, the stances of the military and ministry of foreign affairs are very different, sometimes even conflicting. On September 10, the foreign ministers of China and India held a dialogue to cool down border tensions. The meeting in Moscow conveyed the desire of both sides to maintain peace and stability before they reached a five-point consensus. The next day, however, Bipin Rawat, chief of defense in India, took a very tough attitude and publicly declared that India's armed forces are ready for any eventuality. Thirdly, external forces are fueling potential China-India border clashes. In May, the White House released the "United States Strategic Approach to the People's Republic of China," stating that "the United States will increase public pressure on the PRC government." It is regarded as one of US' guidelines to comprehensively contain China's development in the future Due to the different positions of India's departments and the uncontrollable forces within the Indian military, external forces have the opportunity to take advantage of the conflicts on the China-India border. The divergences among India's different authorities will not disappear any time soon, neither will the uncontrollable forces within the Indian military cease their provocative activities. The border issue is not just influenced by the China-India bilateral relationship, so it will be hard to wipe out border skirmishes quickly. Conflicts could sadly become a new normal along the border. India's infrastructure and transportation capacity are, however, not strong enough to support a large-scale and long-term military confrontation along the border areas, meaning that the scale of future border clashes will be limited. For China, we should stay alert to the possible new normal, and prevent India's radical forces from taking more provocations on border issues as an attempt to seek their political interests. Meanwhile, China should proactively conduct dialogues with peace-loving forces in India and strive to jointly control the crisis, as this serves China's core interests. The author is PHD candidate at School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Tuesday underlined Japan's willingness to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in a statement to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the UN. This is not the first time that Japan has expressed such will to join the UNSC. But if Japan cannot face its past history of aggression, it will never become a permanent member of the UNSC — no matter how hard it tries.

Japan joined the UN in 1956. As its post-WWII economy took off, Japan, with great enthusiasm, joined in the building and improvement of the UN system. It proactively maintained close ties with many UN agencies. For example, Japan officially engraved "UN-centralism" as one of the three principles of its foreign policy. It established United Nations University in Tokyo and has energetically hosted UN-related conferences. From the 1980s to 2018, Japan was been the second largest contributor to the UN budget. These all show Japan's care for UN affairs. By showing such enthusiasm, Japan's main purpose has been to become a permanent member of the UNSC. Tokyo expressed such will as early as the 1970s, but it failed. It made a lot of efforts since, but this did not attract much attention until Japan formed the G4 nations together with Germany, India and Brazil. The four countries support each other's bids for permanent UNSC seats. However, this has raised opposition from many countries. For example, Pakistan expressed its objections because of previous armed conflicts with India. Pakistan harbors concerns that India will abuse its power if it becomes a UNSC member. South Korea, North Korea and Russia all worry that Japan will further move toward the US, which may harm regional peace and security. Japan has been obsessed with becoming a permanent member of the UNSC due to many practical interests. First, among the current permanent members, China is the only Asian country. Japan, as an Asian country too, undoubtedly wants to enhance its influence in this region if it is allowed to become a permanent member. Japan may be more confident in the competition with China. Second, in Japan-US alliance, the two countries are not on an equal footing. If Japan becomes a permanent member of the UNSC, it will be on equal footing with the US — and it will have more say. Third, Japan could cut off its past history of wars of aggression and step into a new era of diplomacy if it becomes a permanent member. This is particularly important for Japan, which has long aspired to become a normal country after WWII. However, if Japan cannot face up to its past history of aggression and cannot sincerely apologize to the countries and people who suffered under its Imperial regime, then it cannot win the respect and trust of its Asian neighbors. Nor the whole world. It will not be qualified to be a permanent member of the UNSC. The UN is an intergovernmental international organization established by sovereign states after the end of WWII. The purpose of the UN includes maintaining peace worldwide and developing friendly relations between countries. China, the US, the UK, France and Russia, as five permanent members of the UNSC, are not only maintaining the fruits of victory in the WWII, as some critics say. Rather, they work for international order and hold mainstream historical perspectives of what happened during and after WWII. This is their responsibility to humanity. Indeed, Japan has made positive contributions to the UN and the international community since the WWII. But it is also an indisputable fact that Japan has repeatedly made mistakes on historical issues. Some Japanese politicians have visited Yasukuni Shrine in a high-profile manner. Some right-wing Japanese forces have revised history textbooks and whitewashed the war of aggression. The Japanese government has hyped-up the so-called China threat and exaggerated regional tensions too. Japan has failed to effectively uphold and fulfill the purpose of the establishment of the UN. It has also failed to sincerely apologize and compensate the victims of wars and the people of countries it victimized. Japan today even rubs salt into their wounds. This makes people doubt: once Japan becomes a permanent member, can it follow the spirit of the UN and make positive contributions to the international community? The UNSC is not a company's board of directors. Its membership is not determined by how much these countries contribute to the budget. If a country wants to play a responsible role in international affairs, it must have a clear understanding of its historical actions. If a country cannot even face its own history squarely, then how can it be responsible to the international community? How can it shoulder the mission of permanent member of the UNSC? The author is a media professional and an observer of Japan issues.

Only three days after the sixth round of the China-India military commander-level meeting on Monday with consensus reached by the two sides to cool rising border tensions, The Hindu quoted a "senior [Indian] government official" and suggested "If PLA (People's Liberation Army) comes close, Indian troops can fire." Such hype only embodies India is being a coward in a lion's skin.

The two countries agreed to stop sending more troops to the frontline in their latest talks. This is relatively in favor of India, because New Delhi has deployed far more troops to border areas than Beijing. In the latest conflict near the Pangong Tso Lake, Indian troops illegally crossed the border, and initially occupied some highlands. India is hoping it could maintain such an "advantage," and therefore wishes the PLA will not "come close." Will India fire the first shot? The possibility cannot be ruled out. The Indian military, or some of its forces, are influenced by nationalist sentiment and the right-wing Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which pervade all facets of Indian society. It may be true that some people want to provoke a war. India has always been calculating on its rhetoric. If the situation is favorable to India, it would advocate that disputes could be resolved by negotiations. This is what happened in early May. But after the skirmish on June 15, when India believed it suffered a loss, the country started to clamor for war. After India's aggression near the Pangong Tso Lake at the end of August, it wanted to talk to China again. When India tends to believe it has some advantages, it would hope to negotiate with China and try to make China concede in talks. This is what is going on for the moment. New Delhi is playing the tactic - using its small leverage to maximize returns, wishing Beijing to make a compromise in the entire region of confrontation. The attempt to occupy more strategic heights in border areas has been India's consistent goal, a tactic through which India tries to nibble into more border areas. However, India has difficulties to confront. Its domestic epidemic crisis is rising. Although it has deployed large-scale troops in border areas, the country's logistics sector is facing huge challenges, especially as winter approaches. Logistics supplies play a decisive role in modern warfare. China's ability to send troops, weapons and ammunition, as well as supplies to the border far outweighs that of India. If India dares to fire the first shot, it will have no chance to fire a second one. China wants no war and used to see India as a "brother" in developing countries. China has been proactively promoting cooperation with India, both on the bilateral level and in multinational platforms. There was a time when China hoped it could jointly rise with India, in an attempt to realize the rejuvenation of the two ancient civilizations, even the rejuvenation of Asia. But India does not think so. It is trying to shape a new global industrial chain without China. It wants to stand with the US against the rise of China, and has been observing China's emergence from a geopolitical lens, fearing China could one day become the dominant power in Asia. India has repeatedly been picking fights on border issues, which is a result of such mentality. India's strategic circle is now taking the border confrontation with China as a weather vane of Asia's future geopolitics. If India wins, it means China's rise can be contained; if India loses, it means China will dominate Asia. The criterion for success or failure is whether India can push Chinese troops back from the frontline, and make China accept the Indian version of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). India has absolutely no sincerity in resolving border disputes. Its ultimate goal is to make China handle the issues according to India's will. Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar claimed on Thursday that the two powers need to accommodate each other's rise. Yet based on my understanding of Indian culture, the "accommodation" is more like a suggestion to demand China accommodate India's rise, acknowledge India's sphere of influence in South Asia, promise not to infringe upon them, and recognize India status as a global power. If China does not fight back, it is likely that conflicts will emerge from time to time on the China-India border, which may even become a new normal. Indian moves are speculative. The time to pick up the conflicts is always well calculated. The 2017 Doklam standoff occurred right before the BRICS summit in Xiamen, China, and the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. At that time, China was facing growing strategic pressure from the US. It is the same this time. Border confrontations occurred when US started to increase pressure on China, and when China was busy fighting COVID-19. If India keeps such a tactic, China must reevaluate its previous approach and attitude toward India. Time to be tougher to India. The author is secretary-general of the Research Center for China-South Asia Cooperation at Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, a visiting fellow of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, and a distinguished fellow of the China (Kunming) South Asia & Southeast Asia Institute.

What are the basic elements of people’s livelihoods? They’re usually considered to be clothing, food, residence and transportation. But I think expression must also be added in. Why? Because speech is a unique talent of human beings. It’s a way to communicate and relieve oneself from stress. Thoroughly expressing oneself can help people obtain spiritual pleasure and comfort. If people can be heard, responded to and recognized, they will be in good spirits. In contrast, they will be depressed should no one pay attention to what they say or should their remarks be dismissed, no matter how well-off they are.

What ordinary people often talk about is what to eat, what to drink or neighbors’ gossips. They will also discuss state affairs or global issues during meals or gathering with friends, which could barely generate any influence. However, there are some people who wish to comment on national policies in public. Some intellectuals, in particular, are addicted to talking about national affairs. I think China has done a great job in ensuring people’s clothing, food, residence and transportation. But its society is still far from reaching a consensus on what we should do with expression. China has made historic progress in improving livelihoods with the support from comprehensive social policies in recent years. The issue of expression is a part of the policies. I want to say that there is no best, only better. When we hope to further boost people’s livelihoods, how to expand the room for expression is worth exploring. We have indeed achieved success under the existing system. But we cannot forget, or take the weak points of the system for granted. It’s necessary to keep advancing. When it comes to the issue of expression, first of all, we shouldn’t think the more strictly expression is controlled, the better it is. What people say must be in line with the Constitution, and must not seriously disrupt the country’s line, principles or policies. This is a hard rule. Beyond that, there is still a lot of room to maneuver. We need to strike a balance between maintaining order in the field of public opinion and making public opinion influencers feel respected. In the process, it’s very important for local governments and various institutions to have greater capability of withstanding criticism. Tsinghua University’s self-assessment that it has been built into a world-class university drew a lot of ridicule online on Thursday. I criticized the school on Weibo and believed my criticism must make the university feel uncomfortable. But it didn’t use its influence to seek for my post to be scrapped. My post has had millions of views on several platforms. If the same thing happened to other institutions or some local governments, they may have been very upset. Tsinghua deserves applause because it has withstood negative commentary from society. If local governments and institutions could treat public opinions with such an attitude, the situation would be greatly improved. In fact, daily public opinion is full of such non-fundamental topics. Discussions on them include positive views, fierce sentiments, as well as some ulterior motives. Modern society inevitably has to get along with complicated public opinion. I am often added into various WeChat groups by others. There are people in some of these groups who worship everything about the US while criticizing everything about China. Their attacks on the Party and the government go against the Constitution and cannot be made public. But these people can entertain themselves in their small groups. I think the fact that our society has been able to allow the existence of such haters to be against the country may have more advantages than disadvantages. Expression is a big issue that brings together the conflicting interests of national interest and public welfare. It seems very difficult to find the balance between them. But, look at the fact that China has been able to contain the coronavirus well while the epidemic is raging on in other parts of the world, leading to more confidence and cohesion within the Chinese society, perhaps China is the country most capable of finding this balance. Our society needs order, vitality as well as a sense of relaxation. We have a lot of resources for governance. Even if temporary disorder occurs, the country has a strong ability to restore balance. Therefore, managing the issue of expression well and making it a powerful resource for social harmony and progress – I believe that’s a great step that China should take in the process of comprehensive modernization. The author is editor-in-chief of the Global Times.

Photo: China Central Television

China's National Defense Ministry said Thursday the recent combat trainings conducted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Tibet Military Command were part of the annual regular training program, and not targeted at any particular country. The PLA Tibet Military Command recently held live ammunition exercises day and night to test its adaptability and firepower of the troops in ultra-high altitudes, a ministry spokesperson said. In a video on China Central Television's (CCTV) military program on Wednesday, a combined arms brigade attached to the PLA 77th Group Army practiced firing in a 4,500 meter-high snow-covered plateau. In the morning, under the cover of darkness and bad weather, the artillery and fire commandos maneuvered toward an unknown combat area dozens of kilometers away. After three rounds of firing, 47 targets were destroyed, the video showed. The live-fire drill tested the capability of firing with different ammunition. On Monday, another CCTV military program showed the PLA Tibet Military Command conducting joint land and air exercises at night in a 4,500 meter-high plateau. Each reconnaissance unit carried out multi-dimensional reconnaissance on the target area using electromagnetic reconnaissance, close-in reconnaissance and others, which allowed the commander to adjust combat plans and allocated firepower at the target. In the video, infantry squads used 120mm anti-tank rockets, individual rockets, and flamethrowers to destroy armored targets and fortified bunkers. The PLA Tibet Military Command also conducted battlefield clearance, medical aid and logistical support exercises. Last week, at a training site at an altitude of 4,500 meters, the command mobilized air defense and long-range artillery fire for nighttime integrated strike drills. The drills took place amid ongoing China-India border tensions. The two sides have been working to deescalate the conflicts but occasional provocations by Indian frontline troops and growing nationalism among some in India calling for tough actions against China have complicated the situation. On Tuesday, China and India agreed to stop sending more troops to the border frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any action that may complicate the situation, at the latest round of the Military Commander-Level Meeting, Chinese National Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said. Chinese observers said they remained cautiously optimistic about the latest development on border issues between China and India, as they believe the latest military talks have sent a positive signal. But the two sides remain divided on many concrete issues, and continue to prepare for possible military conflicts with logistical and troop build-ups.

The China-India border clash that started in May is still ongoing. Many Indian strategy scholars have taken the opportunity to put themselves under the spotlight. They came up with opinions that seem to be rational but exaggerate India's strength. They have been catering to the burning nationalism within India. They are following the trend of hard-line domestic public opinion. That's all. Brahma Chellaney, professor of Strategic Studies at the New Delhi-based Center for Policy Research, is one of the Indian strategists who have blinded themselves. In his recent article, "China Is Paying a High Price for Provoking India," Chellaney analyzed China's "miscalculation" against India in a seemingly serious manner. He said, "China is not equipped to dominate India in a military confrontation." To prove his argument, he noted that Indian troops had "occupied strategic mountain positions overlooking key Chinese deployments on the southern side of Pangong Lake." Chellaney said so with certainty, as if he were there observing what had really happened. However, based on what we know, the brave soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) didn't pay much attention to the threats from Indian troops, and drove them away from the highlands. The PLA has gained advantageous positions in the standoff. Chellaney described Indian soldiers as "battle-hardened forces" who can handle the PLA. It is not surprising at all for him to think so. A BBC Chinese report said Indian media reports about the border clash have relied on official information from the Indian government, or sources in security departments. The Indian media outlets cannot independently verify the official statements, so most of their reports' content was speculative. Indian media outlets follow New Delhi, so they portray China as an invader who disregards bilateral ties, international rules and conventions. If one is surrounded by and imbued with such self-deceiving information, how can we expect him to make a rational judgment? A strategist with vision should never blindly boast about the strength of his own country, especially when facing an overwhelming opponent. It is very important for a strategist to keep a sober head even when others are dazzled by nationalism. As a veteran strategist like Chellaney is still unable to escape the fate of following the trend, it is not surprising that a group of Indian strategists are short-sighted when looking at China-India relations. Worse, they have recklessly poured gasoline on fire: Their misjudgment has forced Indian troops to bluff at the border and to engage in a mission they are not able to accomplish. These so-called scholars have actually sacrificed the Indian army for rising nationalism. Indian people should really take a good look at today's world and today's China. They also need to carefully study history. To confront China, India is playing with fire. In the long run, the arguments that lack strategist vision will only jeopardize India's efforts to pursue major power status. Catering to nationalist sentiment can bring only temporary fame to scholars. But the long-time collusion of nationalist public opinion and a lack of strategic vision will only make Indians out of touch with reality. This being the case, the Indian government will be further kidnapped by nationalism and eventually drown in such extreme sentiment. It is likely that India cannot afford such a painful price.

India on Sunday announced a $250 million loan to the Maldives to boost its corona virus-battered economy. The loan reportedly followed a $500 million pledge by New Delhi in August to help build infrastructure in the island nation, which took India's total pledged financial assistance in the Maldives to over $2 billion since Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was sworn into office in 2018. While the implementation of India's financial assistance commitment to the Maldives remains in question, some media outlets have associated India's assistance with its relationship with China, saying India's loan is a further bid to counter China's growing financial footprint in South Asia. To smear and attack the economic cooperation between China and the Maldives is a well-worn narrative among Western media outlets. To depict financial assistance and economic cooperation as part of a geopolitical game or competition smacks of a Cold War mindset and shows a lack of respect for the Maldives' national sovereignty and independence. As gloom darkens over the global economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, China has been providing medical assistance to countries and actively working with those whose debt and financial sustainability has been affected. It has collaborated to create a plan for these economies to endure the pandemic rather than pushing for repayment. Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives Zhang Lizhong said in a tweet on Monday that in addition to the Chinese government's commitment to the G20 debt suspension initiative for bilateral sovereign loans, a discussion on commercial loan suspension requested by the Maldives is underway. Similarly, it's believed that the main purpose of India's commitment of financial assistance to the Maldives is to promote the development of the Maldives and help the Maldives economy endure the difficulties of the pandemic, rather than being for geopolitical purposes or to counter China's financial footprint as some media have suggested. This is because it would be a fairly bad plan to count on the Maldives - an independent country, to be involved in other countries' geopolitical games in return for financial assistance. As a sovereign country, the Maldives has the right to develop mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation with all countries. In other words, no country has the right to demand exclusive economic cooperation with it. Even if India does have implicit political motives for offering financial assistance to the Maldives, the Maldives will not be involved in the geopolitical games as some foreign media like to believe. India, whose economy has been severely hammered by the pandemic with many regions in dire need of financial assistance, will find itself disappointed if its carefully calculated "plan" goes up in smoke. The article was compiled based on an interview with Long Xingchun, president of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs.

China and India agreed to stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any action that may complicate the situation, Chinese National Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said on Tuesday, after a series of border clashes between the two countries since May, and escalating tensions in recent months.On Monday, Chinese and Indian senior commanders held the 6th round of the Military Commander-Level Meeting, during which the two sides had candid and in-depth exchanges of views on stabilizing the situation along the LAC in the China-India border areas, Wu said. China and India agreed to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen communication on the ground, avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments, stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any action that may complicate the situation. The two sides also agreed to hold the 7th round of the Military Commander-Level Meeting as soon as possible, take practical measures to properly solve problems on the ground, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border area, Wu said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin also said on Tuesday that China and India held the 6th round of corps commander-level talks on Monday, in which the two sides exchanged views on the current border situation, before agreeing to continue talking and discussing the issue. Frequent high-level talks are a good sign, indicating the willingness of China and India to solve the current problems through dialogue, according to some observers, who remain cautiously optimistic for a major breakthrough during the new round of military talks. Long Xingchun, president of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs, told the Global Times Tuesday that this does not necessarily solve the long-standing border disputes between China and India, but marks a critical step to prevent the current situation from escalating. “This helps build up mutual trust. If the two sides still deploy troops to the frontline, it means they believe the other side is preparing for war. Now that they decided to stop sending more troops to the frontline, they are sending a signal to each other that they will try to solve the current conflict peacefully,” Long said.

Senior Chinese and Indian officers held the sixth round of the military commander-level meeting on Monday. Before that, a speculation went viral that the talks might have to be postponed due to increasing hostilities on both sides. To the relief of observers, the talks took place and both sides confirmed that the seventh round of the meetings will be held as soon as possible, which shows a mutual willingness to continue to talk to ease border tensions.

The two countries also reached a consensus to stop sending more troops to the frontline, which at least can cool down the rising temperature of confrontation, thus tensions along the China-India border may take a pause. People who are concerned with the situation can feel a little more at ease. However, it is hard to expect a comprehensive agreement to be reached in just one or two meetings. And their joint press release made no mention of "complete disengagement" of their troops, which indicates that their previously reached consensus lost efficacy following continuous provocations from India. The sixth round of talks serves only to maintain the status quo, which is already very intense, and from that point they will find a possible agreement on disengagement. In other words, Beijing and New Delhi now need to start over to establish a new consensus through talks. As a scholar on Indian studies, I have a particular interest on observing India's way of negotiating. It entails asking for a wild price to create room for bargaining, which means it will take a farther way back but still expects to meet its counterpart halfway. In such cases, India doesn't have to change its original stance, but still gives a concessional gesture. That is to say, it will make a concession that didn't exist in the first place in exchange for its counterpart making the real concession. Otherwise, the latter will take the blame for reaching no deal. Such a negotiation tactic has won India quite a few favorable conditions in its accession to international trade organizations, but little has been accomplished on military negotiations, especially on border talks as India's original stances have gone too far to infringe upon other's sovereignty, and there is no room for its counterpart to give in. It will only force its counterpart to match the toughness or take the blame for no deal. This holds true in its talks with China on the latest border situation. According to Indian media reports, sources from India said New Delhi insisted that the Chinese People's Liberation Army withdraw from all friction points with a timeline, and give "free and unhindered access to Indian forces to all patrol points." This is the Indian tactic to strike a deal. New Delhi wishes for Beijing to accept the LAC determined by India, and to accept the consequences of a damaged sovereignty. Chinese diplomatic and military representatives have refuted such unreasonable requests. If India continues to stick to such stubborn stances, no frontline disengagement will ever occur, and all forthcoming negotiations and talks will be meaningless. Reports have shown that a representative from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs also participated in the latest talks, and hopefully India's attitude toward negotiations with China can come down to reality. Indian strategists tend to believe that China has no ability and willingness to confront India amid strategic pressure from the US. They surely have their own way to calculate the risks and benefits, but certainly have misjudged China on this. China is protecting its home at its doorstep, and you can imagine how determined it is to push back against bullying from either the US or India. India tends to clamor about how aggressive China is, and such assertion only illuminates a paradox of logic: If India truly believes China is an aggressive power, what kind of aggressive power will China be if it can't defend its own soil? The irony is such misjudgment shows only a lack of strategic vision of Indian strategists. The Indian government is addicted to its usual tactic of displaying toughness, such as its war preparedness and the inclusion of Rafale fighter jets in the conflicting border areas. It is understandable for them to show a tough image to its own people, but such a display of Indian military muscle will have no effect. Beijing have far more superior weapons to deploy, but has not done so for the sake of mainlining peace and tranquility along the border areas. The confrontation and hostility between China and India has lasted since May. There is no longer an ounce of mutual trust between China and India at the strategic level. There is good reason to believe that even with a temporary plan of disengagement, India will again make provocations when it perceives international environment is in its favor. At any time, Beijing has demonstrated its ability and willingness to match India's military provocations. Given India's constant provocations, China's military deployments in relevant areas have now improved, and still have far more room for further improvement. The choice is in the hands of New Delhi. (The author is assistant professor at the Institute for International and Area Studies, Tsinghua University.)

Local residents have tea in the century-old teahouse in Kashgar on September 11. Photo: Yu Jincui/GT

In a report titled "Xinjiang's System of Militarized Vocational Training Comes to Tibet" released by Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday, the US think tank claimed that China is pushing Tibetan rural laborers off the land and into "military-style" training centers, where they are turned into factory workers. The report was written by Adrian Zenz, a so-called scholar who took the lead in accusing China of "detaining" Uygurs. Zenz said turning Tibetan rural laborers into factory workers is the "most clear and targeted attack on traditional Tibetan livelihoods." Reuters corroborated Zenz's report on Tuesday by trying to further verify China's "mass labor program in Tibet." Zenz, the so-called leading Western expert on Xinjiang who fishes for personal gain with baseless reports, is now smearing the China's Tibet Autonomous Region after he failed to achieve his goal of blackening Xinjiang. Some Western media and think tanks are now targeting Tibet, trying to smear China and sabotage China's national image in the international community. Under the guise of justice, the West fears China overcoming hardships in the process of poverty alleviation. By releasing fabricated reports, Zenz, who was once a theology scholar, turned himself into an expert on Xinjiang and Tibet hailed by Western media. His reports are full of false information based on bias and stereotypes. He has turned himself into an academic swindler and a tool of Washington's anti-China forces. Rural areas are the poorest in Tibet, and about 68.5 percent of ethnic Tibetan people live in rural, agricultural and pastoral land. With continuous efforts, these areas have mostly achieved road and traffic connections, bringing prosperity to industries in Tibet. According to data from Tibet's Human Resources and Social Security Department in July, some 571,000 Tibetan achieved employment transfer from agricultural rural laborer to non-agricultural rural laborer in 2019, generating 3.48 billion yuan in income. This has become a main driving force to increase Tibetan rural laborers' income. Tibet's GDP growth in the first quarter in 2020 ranked first in China. Among the 31 provincial regions in the Chinese mainland, Tibet was the only one that achieved a positive GDP growth in the first quarter. Zenz and some Westerners must understand this: China's improvement of the ethnic Tibetan people's living standards does not conflict with respecting Tibetan traditional cultural and spiritual heritage. Just on the opposite, the best way to protect Tibet is to develop its economy and achieve poverty alleviation. The situation is the same in Xinjiang - the vocational education and training centers have resulted in knowledge and employment skills, and helped maintain peace. Under such circumstances, some Westerners' accusations are unreasonable and immoral. Their malice is obvious. China has explored a new path in the governance of Xinjiang, which will bring stability and prosperity to the region, while ensuring religious freedom. However, the West is generally falling into religious and ethnic conflicts. For example, the death of George Floyd triggered protests demanding racial justice in the US, and the Trump administration has failed to resolve the crisis. The West is not qualified to accuse China of its governance in ethnic minority autonomous regions such as Xinjiang and Tibet. On the contrary, the West should learn from China's governance methods. China's poverty alleviation campaign is a miracle, and we are confident to win the battle. Western criticism will never change China's governance in Tibet and Xinjiang, because such governance is the right and only choice. It can also be an example for other countries and regions worldwide. History will make its objective evaluation, and the standard will never be determined by Western opinion.

Chinese observers said Wednesday they remained cautiously optimistic about the latest development in border issues between China and India, as they believe the latest military talks have sent a positive signal, but the two sides still remain divided on many concrete issues and continue to prepare for possible military conflicts with logistical and troop build-up. China and India agreed to stop sending more troops to the border frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any action that may complicate the situation at the latest round of Military Commander-Level Meeting, Chinese National Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said on Tuesday, after a series of border clashes between the two countries since May, and escalating tensions in recent months. On Monday, senior Chinese and Indian commanders held their sixth round of the Military Commander-Level Meeting, during which the two sides had candid and in-depth exchanges of views on stabilizing the situation along the LAC in the China-India border areas, Wu said. China and India agreed to implement the important consensus reached by their leaders, strengthen communication on the ground, avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments, stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any action that may complicate the situation. The two sides also agreed to hold the 7th round of the Military Commander-Level Meeting as soon as possible, take practical measures to properly solve problems on the ground, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border area, Wu said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin also said on Tuesday that China and India held the sixth round of corps commander-level talks on Monday, in which the two sides exchanged views on the current border situation, before agreeing to continue talking and discussing the issue. Frequent high-level talks are a good sign, indicating the willingness of China and India to solve the current problems through dialogue, according to some observers, who remain cautiously optimistic for a major breakthrough during the new round of military talks. Long Xingchun, president of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs, told the Global Times Tuesday that this does not necessarily solve the long-standing border disputes between China and India, but marks a critical step to prevent the current situation from escalating. "This helps build up mutual trust. If the two sides still deploy troops to the frontline, it means they believe the other side is preparing for war. Now that they decided to stop sending more troops to the frontline, they are sending a signal to each other that they will try to solve the current conflict peacefully," Long said. The latest round of talks lasted long, and made more progress in terms of consensus than before, and is a positive signal to not escalate the situation, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute of Tsinghua University in Beijing, told the Global Times on Wednesday. But the long talks also indicated it was still difficult to resolve all the problems, as both sides remain divided on many concrete issues, Qian said. Many previous rounds of talks have involved military officers and diplomats at different levels since May and all released positive signals, but that did not stop new incidents in June, August and September from happening, observers noted. Both sides are expected to prepare for two scenarios, and continue logistical and troop deployments behind the border, Qian said. Chinese military analysts said that when winter comes, the Chinese military will widen the capability gap against the Indian military, thanks to its superior logistics support system, infrastructure and strategic positions.

Chinese netizens and experts expressed caution after India's minister of electronics and information technology said last week there are no proposals to ban all China-linked mobile apps or exclude Chinese companies from 5G contracts for wireless equipment. He made the comments during a question-and-answer session in the Indian parliament.Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Sanjay Dhotre addressed concerns raised by members of the Indian parliament over bans on Chinese apps and 5G gear. The minister said the government had no plan to exclude Chinese companies Huawei Technologies and ZTE from 5G network infrastructure contracts, and he also revealed that there was no proposal within his ministry to ban all apps that are linked to China.It is reported that the minister's comment on 5G procurement quelled fears among some telecom companies in India that Chinese players might be banned from participating in 5G trials and roll-outs as part of the Indian government's ban on Chinese products and services. Although some observers excitedly said this might be a change in the Indian government's attitude toward Chinese investment, Chinese netizens were more cautious. "Lift the ban on Chinese apps first and we will talk about the rest," one netizen wrote. "This could be India playing its old trick of balancing again, and the message could be sent to pressure Western telecom operators," wrote another. Dai Yonghong, director of Global Governance and Area Studies at Shenzhen University, said that the Indian government's reckless economic decoupling from China - in direct violation of the spirit of contracts - has bankrupted its credibility. "The lesson surely cannot be forgotten by Chinese companies in such a short time, and any attempt to resume cooperation should be taken with extreme caution," Dai told the Global Times on Tuesday, noting that the minister's comments don't carry much weight in India's political climate, as they could be overruled by the Indian prime minister or other officials. The Indian government has engaged in a reckless move to decouple with China following a deadly border clash in June. It has so far banned nearly 300 mobile services apps made by Chinese companies, made it hard for importers to bring in Chinese goods, and rolled out policies curbing Chinese investment in the country. Those actions, in direct violation of the spirit of contracts, have caused the country's business climate to deteriorate significantly. Leading Chinese tech firm Alibaba decided to shut down operations for the UC Browser and lay off local employees. Per a Global Times survey on Chinese experts in June, Chinese investment into India is expected to fall by 50 percent in 2020. Chinese analysts said that while India is inclined to develop a new supply chain over which it can have more control, it is impossible to completely exclude Chinese products and services at this moment. India has been ramping up its 5G strength. The country's Reliance Jio announced that it had developed its own 5G technology in July. Jio was listed as a so-called clean telecom company by the US Department of State in a US drive to exclude Chinese firms from global telecom businesses.

A man sanitizes railings at the Taj Mahal after authorities reopened the monument to visitors, amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in Agra, India on Monday. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, India has more than 5.4 million COVID-19 infections, with daily new confirmed cases reaching 100,000. Photo: thepaper.cn

US President Donald Trump said Saturday that he had approved "in concept" a deal in which Oracle and Walmart would partner with TikTok in the US. This means his previous suppression of TikTok has failed. It also means that after Huawei, another Chinese company going global has wisely been able to resolve US hegemonic suppression.

The colossal competition between China and the US has shown features that do not exist in traditional struggles between major powers. The US is very wary of the investment and use of Huawei, TikTok and WeChat. Some US politicians have even proposed China-US decoupling. The current reality is that decoupling is not easy. US politicians' attempts may not be able to defeat marketization and globalization. Previously, teenage users of TikTok in the US strongly opposed the app's ban in the country. Finally, Trump compromised. TikTok still retains most of the equity and control of the core algorithm, which is far from the US administration's goal of forcing TikTok to sell itself to its rivals such as Facebook or Microsoft. The same is true for Huawei. Over the past two years, the average annual growth rate of Huawei's mobile phone sales worldwide has exceeded 20 percent. China's outstanding international companies are merging with globalization. And the US has simply no power to stop it. Although the road ahead is still difficult, TikTok's survival and development in the US market has once again shown US politicians are bluffing over the country's purported power. Trump prides himself on winning the TikTok agreement. But in fact, the survival and development of Huawei and TikTok, under the suppression of the world's only superpower, is the biggest reflection of the weakness of the US power and the resilience of Chinese companies. I have investigated dozens of Chinese companies engaging in foreign trade. None of them has died in the US-initiated trade and technology war against China. On the contrary, many have become braver and more mature. Chinese companies are learning to make full use of the legal and market means to deal with US hegemony. An important background, of course, is China's tactful response to the US. China unveiled "unreliable entities list" rules and imposed sanctions on anti-China US officials following the US provocative actions. The US should have considered the possibility of a pragmatic response from China before it decided to act aggressively against it. In other words, if the US wants China to feel the pain, it must feel the pain itself. Chinese people are not arrogant, nor do they seek global political and security dominance as the US does. Defeating the US has never been China's goal. On the contrary, China's pragmatic aspiration is to cooperate with the US as much as possible to promote its own development. This can be regarded as a new process of a civilized "great power" game. This great power competition in the 21st century is not necessarily a zero-sum game in which "you" win and "I" lose. It is more likely to be a long-term business in which "you" earn more and "I" earn less. The Chinese, of course, have a bottom-line mentality and are prepared for the worst-case scenario. In recent years, some voices in China have been worried about the possibility of a cold war or even a hot war between China and the US. In my opinion, in the next decade or more, the frictions between China and the US will be normalized. The game is most likely to be an entanglement rather than a one-sided battle or a violent confrontation. It is neither necessary for the international community to take sides nor be surprised when they adapt to the new normal as both struggle and cooperation between China and the US play out over a longer period of time. Washington now should dispel all illusions that it can crush Beijing. It cannot defeat even a Chinese company, let alone China the country. For China, we need to view the US in a more realistic light too. The US is no longer the beautiful country as its name in Chinese, 美国 (meiguo), suggests. And Chinese people need not worship or fear the US. Nor hate or oppose it. The US is not China's enemy. Nor is it China's friend as we had expected it to be. If Chinese companies can operate in accordance with laws and market rules, they will surely go further and better. The author is professor and executive dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, and executive director of China-US People-to-People Exchange Research Center

Australia's Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton refused to confirm that the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) had "interrogated" four Chinese journalists in June over a raid on their home in Australia, but said the agency had carried out "actions." In the past few years, Australian security and intelligence agencies, ASIO in particular, have been greatly exposed in the media. They have played a prominent role in Australia's foreign exchanges, especially in the deterioration of Australia-China relations.

Last year, Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating even used the word "nutters" to lambast Australia's spy bosses. Observers believe that Australia's security and intelligence agencies have moved from behind the scenes to the front. "It's not normal for the intelligence agencies to dominate Australia-China relations," a German scholar told the Global Times. The ridiculous "wolverines" "The role of Australian intelligence agencies has changed dramatically in recent years, jumping to the front to intervene in national policy," Chen Hong, a professor and director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University, told the Global Times. In recent years, especially on the issues related to China, those agencies sometimes have jumped out to speak actively, including about China's current and former leaders. The government intelligence background in the past adds "authority" to their voice. One of them is Andrew Hastie, a Liberal MP described by Britain's Guardian newspaper as "a notorious hawk on China." He was denied a visa to visit China in late 2019, with another Australian MP, James Paterson. Chinese embassy in Australia said in a statement that the Chinese people do not welcome those who make unwarranted attacks on China. A few days ago, a so-called Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China issued a statement claiming that China was bullying Australia, in which Hastie is the Australian representative. Hastie is Chair of Australia's Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. Last August, he wrote that Australia's sovereignty and freedom could be at risk from China's rise, even comparing the way the West now treats China to France's failure to contain Nazi Germany's "appeasement policy." In Australia, the Committee has a special position as a bipartisan mechanism in parliament that receives regular briefings on China from ASIO. Hastie has stood at the front of the stage many times to manipulate anti-China issues since he became the chair of the committee. Australia's ban on Huawei as a supplier of 5G equipment was pushed by his committee. Intriguingly, Hastie and others (Liberal MP Tim Wilson; Senator James Paterson, Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching, and so on) formed a "Wolverine Caucus" to "speak out against China's expansion of power." The name wolverine is related to the 1984 Hollywood film Red Dawn, in which a group of American teenagers rise up against Soviet invasion and defeat their enemies, nicknamed the wolverine. As for a representative of the public opinion elected by the country imitating the American teenagers in the movie, some Australian scholars commented that they really don't know whether to laugh or cry. On September 4, a Reuters article on Sino-Australian relations also referred to the "wolverine" of bi-partisan lawmakers in the Australian parliament. The article said the sharp decline in relations between the two countries in recent years has been led in part by a coterie of Australian officials, some with security and intelligence backgrounds. Last August, when Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison chose Andrew Shearer, who is known for his pro-American and anti-China stance, as the cabinet secretary, there was a lot of talk in the Australian media that the Australian government had sent a signal to further align itself with the US as the confrontation between the US and China escalated. Andrew Shearer, deputy director-general of the Office of National Intelligence, worked as a senior advisor at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) from 2016-2018. He previously served as a national security advisor to former Australian prime ministers, John Howard and Tony Abbott. Testifying before the US House Armed Services Committee in 2017, Shearer, a supporter of Australia's military alliance with the US, declared that China was "intent on undermining the liberal world order and the institutions that underpinned it." Shearer has become a powerful voice on China policy in the prime minister's inner circle and has urged closer engagement with Japan and India, according to Reuters. Some retired intelligence officers are also keen on making noises. Duncan Lewis, former head of ASIO who retired last November, told the press that China was trying to use espionage and influence to take over Australia's political system. In response to his comments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said, "We have made many responses to similar statements from Australian sources, and I am tired of repeating." Mike Burgess took over Duncan's place. In last August, when Hastie's comments sparked controversy, Burgess said that foreign interference and espionage threats were "very real and very serious." Australian media said Burgess was a special man who often spoke publicly, even through social media. Burgess specifically noted about the so-called "China threat" when he was the head of Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), Australia's top technical intelligence agency. Mysterious organizations on stage The large Australian intelligence system is mainly composed of six central intelligence agencies, namely the Office of National Intelligence Office (ONI), Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organization (AGO), Defence Intelligence Organization (DIO), and four other departments (the Australian federal police, Australian border troops, etc.). ASIS is a veritable "stealth" outfit. It was founded in 1952 and was mentioned by a member of Parliament in 1975 by accident. The government admitted its existence two years later. ASIO, Australia's oldest intelligence agency, was founded in 1949. At that time, Britain and the US, according to the Venona Plan, cracked the exchange of cables between the Soviet KGB and secret intelligence agents in foreign embassies, believing that "Soviet espionage activities were rampant in Australia," so they suspended the sharing of intelligence with Australia, forcing Australia to establish ASIO. The well-known ASIO has been under the spotlight over the past few years for its frequent moves on China-related issues. In June 2017, ASIO released what it called a classified dossier, opening the door to accusations of China's "infiltration" of Australia. A few months later, the agency said in its annual report that "foreign powers are engaged in a massive and relentless espionage against Australia." Some analysts said that after the ASIO report was released, the Australian defense and security agency became a key advisor to then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and took over the China policy. It is not just ASIO that has become active, the public image of Australia's intelligence community is gradually becoming clearer. The Australian Institute of International Affairs published an article in June 2019 entitled "Out of the shadows: Australia's intelligence leaders speaking out" mentioned that on 29 October 2018, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) ended seven-decades of relative secrecy and closed communication with a tweet reading "long time listener, first time caller". At the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's annual National Security Dinner, ASD Director-General Mike Burgess didn't prevaricate or skirt around the agency's role "on security grounds", instead talking expansively about it. With the motto "Reveal their secrets, Protect our own", ASD, one of Australia's most secretive organizations, is responsible for foreign signals intelligence and cyber warfare. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) colloquially referred to the ASD as "licensed to hack" and disclosed that ASD was key to the result that Australian government banned Chinese company Huawei from supplying equipment for Australia's 5G network. Australia's intelligence agencies are expanding continuously. At the end of 2017, Australia has created a new super-security sector, the Department of Home Affairs. With the purpose to make Australia safer, the department manages a number of functions, including intelligence, law enforcement, immigration and customs border policy. Previously, most of Australia's intelligence services were based in Melbourne, while its policy department is located in Canberra. With the establishment of the Department of Home Affairs, the cooperation between the two sides has been increasing, which has strengthened the prominent role of ASIO and ASIS in Australian foreign policy making, and also made Australia's security agencies stronger than ever. The Australian Financial Review (AFR) commented that the banning of Huawei and the passage of new foreign interference laws showed how secretive intelligence agencies are flexing their foreign policy muscle behind the scenes. One senior US foreign policy expert has privately said that Australia's intelligence service had more influence than its counterparts in any other country, including the UK's Military Intelligence, Section 5 (MI5) and Section 6 (MI6), according to AFR. Started as an intelligence-sharing group, the Five Eyes Alliance has been gradually upgraded into an economic and diplomatic alliance, indicating that intelligence has been upgraded into a vast organization involving the multiple branches of the governments, Chen said. "Sometimes it was not necessarily the prime minister and foreign minister who are pushing it, because they would shift positions as parties compete, but intelligence officials are rarely reshuffled and maintain a consistent mindset, playing a key role behind the scenes." Willing to 'help the US with its dirty work'? The Deutschland Funk has previously detailed the noticeable difference in ASIO's headquarters in Canberra: thick walls, bulletproof doors and windows, and deep protective trenches. The total cost was 500 million euro (about $590 million). This is a surveillance hub for the US-led "Five Eyes" in Asia. Except for targeting China, under the agreement, Australia is responsible for overseeing all countries from the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific. According to media reports, Australia's intelligence monitoring stations cover the entire Asian continent, intercepting all forms of satellite communications, phone calls and e-mails. The Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap, which is the US spy hub in the heart of Australia and where Burgess once served, is responsible for monitoring Chinese mainland and Southeast Asia. The Guardian once commented that "Australia helped the US with its dirty work". In 2013, Australia was involved in US-led intelligence program code-named "Stateroom". In the same year, Canberra sparked diplomatic crises by tapping the phone calls of Indonesian leaders. It is well known that Australia's intelligence services have close ties with the US. Not only has Australia led the way in blocking Huawei, its intelligence officials have also followed the US in actively lobbying for Britain to join the "banning plan". At the start of the year, the Wolverines issued a statement to The Times newspaper in London, voicing anger over the UK government's move to allow Huawei equipment to be part of the country's 5G network. Hugh White, professor of strategic studies at Australian National University, indicated that national security "has become a kind of mantra" in current Australian foreign policy making, and intelligence agencies "seem to be the final court of appeal". Last year, Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating denounced Australia's spy chiefs as "nutters" who manipulated the government's foreign policy. Chen noted that intelligence agencies in Australia now not only collect and analyze confidential information, but also secretly "release" some information that they can't. "They know something is not true and cannot be said by themselves, so they feed it to Australia's news outlets, and let the news agency tell the story for them," Chen said. Chen said that last year, the Australian media exposed the incident of "defecting Chinese agent" Wang Liqiang, who was reported to have conducted major intelligence activities in Hong Kong and Taiwan in his 20s. "The Australian intelligence agencies always distanced themselves from the vortex of public opinion, and finally, after the irresponsible reports were published by the Australian media, nothing was done." According to Der Spiegel, Australia once exported raw materials and beef to China, and China "exported" students and tourists, thus driving Australia's development for decades. But now Australia sees China's rise as a huge challenge. Prodded by US officials, Australia's intelligence agencies have pushed through a series of measures that have become the dominant force in Australia-China relations. Chinese researchers, entrepreneurs and even Australian lawmakers close to China have been accused of spying. "Australia's foreign policy toward China has got into the wrong place," a Berlin-based international political scholar told the Global Times. "It is not normal for the intelligence agencies to dominate Australia-China relations. European intelligence agencies sometimes publish unconfirmed reports, but they usually do not interfere with normal diplomatic relations," he said. The scholar said that ASIO and other institutions which are greatly influenced by the US has seriously damaged China-Australia relations. "In fact, Australia itself is the biggest victim, with its economy falling into the worst recession in more than a decade."

The Indian police recently arrested freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma on charges of spying and passing sensitive information to Chinese intelligence agencies. Interestingly, both the information release and Indian media's coverage of the case highlighted that Sharma had written for Global Times, which is enough to create a negative association against Global Times.  The Indian side alleged that Sharma came to the attention of Chinese intelligence agents after observing his columns in the Global Times and he gradually began to pass Indian defense intelligence to the Chinese side.

I do not know whether the Indian side is making up an unjust case because of the tensions between China and India. Global Times has a large number of freelance writers all over the world. Indian intellectuals are generally able to write in English. Since the launch of  English edition of the Global Times more than a decade ago, it has been common for Indians to either work for the Global Times in Beijing as copy editors, or write for us from India as freelance writers. I think It's very inappropriate for the Indian side to publicly link Global Times to this case and to create a sensation to attract attention. They have obviously failed to show due respect to a Chinese media outlet. And it is particularly improper for the Indian government to do so. Global Times has published many reports and opinion articles on China-India border tensions. I know some Indians have been unhappy with us. They can criticize us openly or argue with us, but it's meaningless to play such a petty trick. The author is editor-in-chief of the Global Times

An aeriel view of the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge linking the Maldivian capital of Male with neighboring island Hulhule on Friday Photo: Xinhua

Some officious Indian media outlets have forcibly linked a cooperation agreement between the US and the Maldives with China recently. They said the resource-rich Indo-Pacific region is where China has been trying to increase its influence, and the US is pushing for a broader role of India in this region. The Indian outlets implied that the recent US-Maldives deal is targeted at China's growing influence in the Indian Ocean. The defense and security pact between the US and the Maldives was reached on the backdrop of growing transnational threats such as piracy, violent extremism, terrorism, and illicit trafficking, said the Maldivian Ministry of Defence. Judging from the content of the deal and the remarks made by the two countries' officials, this should be a normal cooperation. As long as it contributes to maintaining peace, security and prosperity in the region, all countries in the region and the world should respect and welcome it. If there is really a target of the deal, it should be India rather than China. As the most powerful country in the Indian Ocean, India has always regarded the region as its own sphere of influence and it remains highly vigilant against the presence of countries from outside of the region. In the Maldives, India's influence has always been the dominant one. The national security of the Maldives is largely guaranteed by India. Therefore, New Delhi is on high alert when other countries' investment and assistance in infrastructure are offered to the Maldives. China has engaged in extensive mutually beneficial cooperation with the Maldives. However, China has never been exclusive toward Maldives' relations with other countries. The defense cooperation deal between the Maldives and the US has de facto broken India's monopoly in this area. If India is not worried, what shall China worry about? The vast majority of China's trade with the Middle East, Africa and Europe passes through the Indian Ocean, while China has been expanding cooperation with regional countries. Given that there are various unsafe factors in the Indian Ocean such as piracy and natural disasters, maintaining the freedom of navigation and maritime safety in the region is of vital significance to China. This is also a common concern of countries bordering the Indian Ocean, as well as other relevant nations. China has no territorial or maritime disputes with any country at the Indian Ocean. Instead, China has sent the People's Liberation Army Navy to the Gulf of Aden for convoy missions and set up a support base in Djibouti. In addition to safeguarding the freedom of navigation and safety of Chinese vessels, China also assures security for the international community. India, the most powerful country at the Indian Ocean, regards China's existence as a threat. Interestingly by contrast, most countries which are weaker than India in the region regard China as a constructive force and actively expand cooperation with it. They welcome China's presence in the ocean and some countries have even invited China to set up military bases. The contrast arises because India sees the Indian Ocean as its sphere of influence - despite other littoral countries' hope for a free and open Indian Ocean. In the past, India saw the US presence in the Indian Ocean region as a threat. The US was once seen as a threat to the region by India. Now, as India strategically regards China as its greatest threat, it has turned to tolerate the US presence in the region. It has even joined hands with the US to neutralize China by actively catering to the US' Indo-Pacific Strategy. Some Indian media, scholars and officials often take for granted that other regional countries treat China as India does. Thus, as long as there is cooperation between those countries with the US or India, it would be interpreted by Indians as a counterweight to China's influence - like a conditioned reflex. However in fact, countries at the Indian Ocean hope to cooperate with all nations of the world. They are unwilling to see the Indian Ocean ruled by one or two great powers. In the 21st century, countries should adhere to free, equal and mutually beneficial cooperation. Great powers should no longer engage in setting their spheres of influence. China does not oppose any friendly country's cooperation with India. It is hoped that India will have a healthy attitude and stop interfering with the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and countries in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region. The author is a senior research fellow with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at the Beijing Foreign Studies University and president of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs

The Indian Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said at a meeting on September 16 that about 20,000 Indian military personnel have been infected with COVID-19 so far.

For the government's interest, India may still insist on sending troops to the China-India border. As it has seen a relatively large increase in the number of people infected with COVID-19, the need for draft and increased weaponry in the future is likely to be the main path for the Indian army. It is known that the China-India border clash was significant for the Modi administration to make the issue into political capital. As a result, whether it can be well prepared for the winter, as the Indian military calls it, may depend on how much support it can get from the US. But the US military has topped 42,659 positive tests of COVID-19 as of Friday and they continue to struggle to keep it from spreading amongst their ranks. Although it may not have a fatal impact on the overall deployment of the Indian army, it certainly puts pressure on the allocation of combat resources and equipment for any future scenario. Some Indian media outlets have distorted the facts about this, claiming that it is the Chinese soldiers who are causing trouble along the border and posing a threat to India. I wonder if those indignant populists would want to go to the front and take the risk of freezing to death in the upcoming winter. India, at this stage, has no choice but to struggle and perhaps even intensify its provocations on the border. However, if the number of infected Indian troops increases or the situation becomes more unfavorable to New Delhi, it may resort to negotiations to resolve disputes. Washington will undoubtedly give more support to New Delhi to make trouble in the China-India border areas. As the Taiwan card is no longer helpful to the US, the only tools available to the US are making wave in the South China Sea, its alliance in the Indo-Pacific region, and pressing and supporting India overtly and covertly. The Modi administration now has no chips to play because they have completely lost control of the epidemic. India has such a large population base that it is estimated that it may soon surpass the US in terms of the number of infected cases. It is partly because Prime Minister Narendra Modi cares more about making political capital and his personal reputation as well as India's status in the international community. Therefore, the epidemic will be very likely to spike on his watch. Some Indian media outlets have tried to play the truth down that more than 5 million people are infected in their country. The severer the epidemic is, the stronger the need of the Indian government to divert domestic attention will be. This is also India's guiding rationale for putting the blame on China. With a significant increase in the number of infected soldiers, Naik has publicly proposed that soldiers died or injured due to COVID-19 will not be compensated. This has had a great impact on the morale of the troops, since most of the soldiers are from local states and have families to support. Combined with uncontrolled local virus spread, the Indian army's infection rate will only get worse. In truth, India's military might is not as strong as they have always claimed. Sadly, they do not have a clear picture of that. In other words, if they are not backed by the US, India itself will have no military power to compete with China. However, the virus continues to rage out of control in the US. To divert the domestic attention away and cover up the fact that US military can hardly take care of itself, Washington keeps bluffing and provoking conflicts against China. They are doing this by conducting military exercises in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits. Egging India and the island of Taiwan into conflicts is actually serving the political strategy of the US. The author is a Beijing-based naval expert

The Chinese Embassy in India on Thursday refuted Indian media's slander of a Chinese database"monitoring Indians,"saying the coverage about the company is totally untrue.

Some Indian media recently claimed that the Chinese company Zhenhua Data in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, is "monitoring over 10,000 Indian individuals and entities including Indian politicians" with "links to the Chinese government." Responding to the misinformation and accusations, the embassy stated on its website on Thursday that Zhenhua Data, a privately owned company with no links to the Chinese government, has made a public response and made it clear that recent media reports are definitely inconsistent with the facts. "Relevant report makes groundless accusations on the 'presumption of guilt,'purely trying to find excuses aiming to blame others,"the statement quoted the embassy's spokesperson Ji Rong as saying. "Some forces with ulterior motives hype up the so-called 'China watching and manipulating data,' which is a part of planned and premeditated strategy to suppress, contain and smear China," Ji added. In the statement, the embassy reiterated that China has always been a staunch defender of cyber security. "We call on all parties to work with China to make tangible efforts to truly safeguard global data security and build a peaceful, secure, open and cooperative cyber space," it said. Earlier this week, Zhenhua Data denied to the Global Times the reports saying it collects private information such as psychological profiles. "There is nothing about the operations that are illegal or unreasonable," the company representative surnamed Sun told the Global Times on Monday, saying that the company collects information from public sources that are accessible to everyone, which is no different from its Western peers.

The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of ChinaSeptember 2020Contents Preface I. Embarking on Missions for World Peace II. A Key Force in UNPKOs III. Implementation of Pledges Announced at the UN Summit IV. Active Efforts for Greater International Cooperation V. Contributing to Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind Closing Remarks Annex I Timeline of Activities in UNPKOs Annex II Participation in UN Peacekeeping Missions Annex III Service Personnel Fatalities on UN Peacekeeping Missions Preface This year marks the 75th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. It is also the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (UN) and the 30th year since China's armed forces first participated in UN peacekeeping operations (UNPKOs). Peace is an ever-lasting aspiration of the Chinese people and the salient feature of China's development. Since its founding, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has been firmly committed to the path of peaceful development; it has made a significant contribution to world peace and development while realizing its own development. China has always resolutely safeguarded the UN-centered international system and the basic norms governing international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and worked with countries around the world to uphold multilateralism, equity and justice. China takes concrete actions to safeguard world peace and has actively participated in the UNPKOs. China is the second largest contributor to both peacekeeping assessment and UN membership fees, and the largest troop-contributing country (TCC) among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Over the past 30 years, China's armed forces have resolutely delivered on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and sent over 40,000 peacekeepers to 25 UN peacekeeping missions. They have faithfully performed their duties and made a positive contribution to world peace and common development. They have stood fast as a disciplined force for peace and justice. In the new era, China's armed forces comprehensively implement the pledges announced by President Xi Jinping during the UN Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping. To contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind, China's armed forces have stepped up their support for and participation in the UNPKOs, bringing greater confidence and hope for peace and development to areas beset by conflict. As a critical element and key force in the UNPKOs, China's armed forces in the new era have instilled more positive energy into world peace and development. The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. Despite mounting risks and challenges, peace and development remain the overriding theme of the times. No matter how the international landscape evolves, China will always strive to maintain world peace, promote global growth, and uphold international order. China's armed forces will always be a force of justice for world peace and development. The Chinese government is issuing this white paper to review the glorious journey of China's armed forces in the UNPKOs over the past 30 years, to expound their ideas on safeguarding world peace in the new era, and to elaborate on the efforts they make. I. Embarking on Missions for World Peace UN Peacekeeping, as an instrument developed for peace, has made a significant contribution to world peace. In 1971, China recovered its legitimate seat in the UN and began to play a more active role in international affairs. After reform and opening up began in 1978, China gradually increased its involvement in UN peacekeeping affairs. In April 1990, China's armed forces dispatched five military observers to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) and embarked on a new voyage as a participant in the UNPKOs. In the past three decades, China's armed forces have engaged in the UNPKOs with courage and determination, always aspiring to fulfill their missions of meeting the responsibilities of a major country, safeguarding world peace, and contributing to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. China's Blue Helmets have become a key force in UN peacekeeping. China's armed forces participate in the UNPKOs, because the pursuit of peace is in the genes of the Chinese nation. The Chinese nation values peace and harmony. Ideas such as "unity of man and nature" "harmony among all nations" "harmony without uniformity" and "kindness towards fellow human beings," voice the mind of the Chinese people on the universe, international relations, society and ethics. The pursuit of peace, amity and harmony has long been the primary aspiration of our nation. The philosophy of upholding peace, harmony, cooperation and common development has been passed down from generation to generation in China. For millennia, peace has been in the veins and the DNA of the Chinese nation. It is a consistent goal of China's armed forces. China's armed forces participate in the UNPKOs, because the Chinese people care about the wellbeing of humanity. The Chinese people always dream of living in a harmonious world where everyone belongs to one and the same family. They advocate that "a just cause should be pursued for the common good" and that one should put concern for the wellbeing of other people before personal interests. They hope for a better life not only for themselves, but also for other peoples across the world. Chinese service members join the UN efforts to bring hope and promote peace. China's armed forces participate in the UNPKOs, because serving the people is the fundamental purpose of the people's armed forces. China's armed forces come from the people, have their roots in the people, developed to serve the people, and fight for the people. They serve the people wholeheartedly at all times and under all circumstances, remain close to the people, and always put the people's interests first. With love and humanity, Chinese peacekeeping troops make efforts to bring peace and happiness to people in mission areas. China's armed forces participate in the UNPKOs, because China honors its responsibilities as a major country. As a founding member of the UN and a responsible member of the international community, China honors its obligations, firmly supports the UN's authority and stature, and actively participates in the UNPKOs. China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and therefore, it is incumbent on China as a major country to play an active part in the UNPKOs. World peace is indivisible and humanity shares a common destiny. To participate in the UNPKOs is integral to China's joint efforts with other countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind. China's armed forces commit themselves to the following policy stances on UN peacekeeping: Upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China always abides by the primary principles of the UN such as sovereign equality of all members and settlement of international disputes by peaceful means. It respects the social systems and development paths independently chosen by other countries, and respects and accommodates the legitimate security concerns of all parties. Following the basic principles of the UNPKOs. China always adheres to the basic principles of UN peacekeeping, including consent of the host nation, impartiality, and non-use of force except in self-defense and defense of the mandate. It respects the territorial integrity and political independence of sovereign states, always remains impartial, and strictly fulfills the mandate of the Security Council. Championing the vision of global governance based on extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. China stays committed to building a world of lasting peace through dialogue and consultation, to combining its efforts with others to bring about a world of common security for all, and to creating a world of common prosperity through win-win cooperation, an open and inclusive world through exchanges and mutual learning, and a clean and beautiful world by pursuing green and low-carbon development. Pursuing common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. China always respects and ensures the security of each and every country. It upholds security in both traditional and non-traditional fields, promotes the security of both individual countries and broader regions through dialogue and cooperation, and focuses on development and security so that security would be durable. Staying committed to peaceful means in settling disputes. China advocates that disputes and differences between countries or within a country should be resolved through peaceful means. Countries should increase mutual trust, settle disputes and promote security through dialogue. Willful threat or use of force should be rejected. Building stronger peacekeeping partnerships. China strives to bring about greater involvement of host nations, TCCs and fund contributing countries (FCCs) through UN peacekeeping reform. It leverages the role of regional and sub-regional organizations, and promotes closer partnerships in peacekeeping operations. II. A Key Force in UNPKOs Over the past 30 years, China's armed forces have contributed a growing number of peacekeepers across an expanding range of deployments. From a few military observers at the outset of its involvement, China's armed forces are now sending both formed units and military professionals. Chinese military peacekeepers serve on the UN missions in engineer, medical, transport, helicopter, force protection and infantry units, and as staff officers, military observers and seconded officers. Chinese military peacekeepers have left their footprints in over 20 countries and regions including Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus, South Sudan, Mali and the Central African Republic. They have made a tremendous contribution to facilitating the peaceful settlement of disputes, safeguarding regional security and stability, and promoting economic and social development in host nations. 1. Ceasefire Supervision Ceasefires are supervised to ensure that conflicting parties abide by their agreements. It was the earliest function of UN peacekeeping, and the first task undertaken by Chinese military peacekeepers. Since 1990, in addition to military observers, more military professionals have been involved in UN peacekeeping as staff officers and seconded officers. In the past three decades, China's armed forces have sent 2,064 military professionals to 25 missions and UN headquarters (UNHQ). Thirteen of them have been appointed to key positions as force commander, deputy force commander, sector commander, and deputy sector commander. In August 2020, 84 military professionals were working on missions and at UNHQ on patrols, observation, ceasefire supervision, liaison, negotiation, command and control, and operations planning. Military observers are deployed in conflicts to gather information for decision making. Their lives are often threatened by armed conflicts. On July 25, 2006, during the Israel-Lebanon conflict, Du Zhaoyu, a young Chinese military observer deployed in south Lebanon, bravely remained at his post, fulfilled his duty, and made the ultimate sacrifice for peace. He was posthumously awarded First Class Merit by the Chinese military and the Dag Hammarskj?ld Medal by the UN. 2. Stabilizing the Situation Promptly stabilizing the situation paves the way for the peace process. This is a main task of UN peacekeeping missions, and an important area to which Chinese peacekeeping troops have expanded their functions in recent years. The security situation in some mission areas is challenging, marred by frequent conflicts, terrorist attacks and violent riots. Among all peacekeeping units, it is the infantry battalions that are mainly tasked with armed patrol, separating conflicting parties, riot control, cordoning, and search. They are the backbone for UN peacekeeping and the stabilizers of security. In January 2015, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) dispatched an infantry battalion of 700 troops to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the first organic unit of its kind to operate overseas in a peacekeeping mission. Over the past five years, six rotations have been committed to UNMISS. The Chinese infantrymen worked day and night amid the rattle of gunfire and the rumble of explosions in the mission area. As of August 2020, these battalions had completed 51 long-range and 93 short-distance patrols, 314 armed escorts, and over 30,000 hours of patrols in weapons-free zones, making a significant contribution to stabilizing the local situation. In August 2018, when a large riot erupted in Juba, capital of South Sudan, the Chinese infantry battalion acted immediately on orders and quelled the violence decisively and promptly. 3. Protecting Civilians The Protection of Civilians (POC) is an important part of the UNPKOs. It is a duty that Chinese military peacekeepers resolutely undertake. The Chinese people suffered immensely from the scourge of war in modern times, and Chinese service members know only too well the value of peace and life. In war-torn mission areas, Chinese military peacekeepers maintain peace with their sweat, youth and lives. In July 2016, an armed conflict broke out in Juba between government and opposition forces. Heavy weapons including tanks, large-caliber artillery, and armed helicopters were employed by both sides in fierce exchange of fire, putting a large number of civilians in severe danger. The Chinese infantry battalion, together with peacekeepers from other countries, was responsible for protecting civilians in downtown Juba and over a hundred surrounding villages. Facing a raging storm of gunfire and artillery bombardment, the Chinese infantrymen risked their lives to build a defense for life and prevented the militants from approaching the POC camp, and ensured the safety of over 9,000 civilians. Corporal Li Lei and Sergeant Yang Shupeng sacrificed their lives in the action. They lived up to the solemn pledge and sacred obligation of protecting lives and safeguarding peace with bravery and sacrifice. They were posthumously conferred First Class Merit by the Chinese military and the Dag Hammarskj?ld Medal by the UN. 4. Providing Force Protection Force protection is vital to securing the personnel and assets of UN peacekeeping missions. As an important contributor to the UNPKOs, China's armed forces have been active in sending in troops to the UN missions to provide reliable force protection. In December 2013, China's armed forces dispatched a force protection unit of 170 troops to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to conduct guard duties and VIP protection at the Sector East Headquarters. This was the first time that China's armed forces had dispatched troops to carry out force protection duties for the UNPKOs. Mali is among the most dangerous mission areas, afflicted by frequent suicide attacks, roadside bombs and other terrorist assaults. Over the past seven years, China's armed forces have sent 1,440 troops for force protection in eight rotations to MINUSMA. The units have fulfilled their tasks effectively in the hazardous southern edge of the Sahara Desert, including over 3,900 armed patrols and armed escorts. They have earned themselves the reputation of "des troupes d'élite" of Sector East. On May 31, 2016, First Sergeant Shen Liangliang was killed trying to prevent a terrorist vehicle laden with explosives from crashing into the UN camp. He was posthumously conferred First Class Merit by the Chinese military and the Dag Hammarskj?ld Medal by the UN. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, First Sergeant Shen Liangliang was conferred the national honorary title of People's Hero. On March 12, 2017, an intense conflict broke out in Yei, a border town in South Sudan. Seven UN civilian staff were caught in the crossfire and they were at severe risk of losing their lives. The Chinese infantry battalion immediately sent in 12 officers and soldiers to the rescue. Despite threats and dangers in their way, they outmaneuvered the militants, defeated three interception attempts, and successfully evacuated the trapped personnel. This timely and efficient operation was hailed and publicized as an exemplary model of rescue operations by UNMISS. 5. Deploying Enabling Capabilities Force enablers such as engineer, transport, medical, and helicopter units play an irreplaceable role in the UNPKOs. Currently, the majority of Chinese peacekeeping troops perform such enabling tasks. On UN peacekeeping missions, Chinese military peacekeepers in the logistic support units have become the embodiment of China's quality, speed and standards through their skills, professionalism and dedication. In January 2020, some terrorists attacked the Tessalit Camp in the Sector North of MINUSMA and wounded more than 20 people. The Chinese medical unit in Sector East was rushed in by air and evacuated seven injured Chad peacekeepers to the Chinese medical camp. All the wounded were saved by prompt emergency treatment. In May 2020, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a tense security situation, the Chinese engineer unit built a bridge over the Sopo River in South Sudan to the highest quality standards. This bridge created a transport route between Wau and Raga, which was highly commended by the local government and residents. In the past 30 years, China's armed forces have contributed 111 engineer units totaling 25,768 troops to eight UN peacekeeping missions in Cambodia, the DRC, Liberia, Sudan, Lebanon, Sudan's Darfur, South Sudan, and Mali. These units have built and rehabilitated more than 17,000 kilometers of roads and 300 bridges, disposed of 14,000 landmines and unexploded ordnance, and performed a large number of engineering tasks including leveling ground, renovating airports, assembling prefabricated houses, and building defense works. Twenty-seven transport units totaling 5,164 troops were dispatched to the UN peacekeeping missions in Liberia and Sudan. They transported over 1.2 million tons of materials and equipment over a total distance of more than 13 million kilometers. Eighty-five medical units of 4,259 troops were sent to six UN peacekeeping missions in the DRC, Liberia, Sudan, Lebanon, South Sudan, and Mali. They have provided medical services to over 246,000 sick and wounded people. Three helicopter units totaling 420 troops were sent to Sudan's Darfur. They completed 1,951 flight hours, transported 10,410 passengers and over 480 tons of cargo in 1,602 sorties. 6. Sowing the Seeds of Hope It is the common aspiration of all peoples throughout the world to live a better life. Far from home, Chinese military peacekeepers have made concrete efforts to bring peace and hope to war-afflicted peoples. To actively facilitate humanitarian assistance. Over the past 30 years, China's peacekeeping troops worked extensively and effectively with international humanitarian agencies, and have played an active role in resettling refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), distributing food, building refugee and IDP camps, and carrying out disaster relief tasks. In April 2020, Uvira in eastern DRC was struck by a rare flood, which posed a severe threat to the lives and property of the locals. The Chinese engineer unit was assigned to disaster relief work at the most critical moment and rushed to help reinforce levees and restore damaged bridges. They have given the locals access to help and protection, and effectively ensured the safety and security of the affected population. To participate extensively in post-conflict reconstruction. In a post-war country or region, when a peace agreement is reached, it is essential to restore livelihoods and social order in order to prevent the recurrence of conflict and achieve lasting peace and stability. Chinese peacekeeping troops have played an active role in post-conflict reconstruction of host nations. They built important infrastructure, monitored elections, trained local doctors and nurses, and promoted environmental protection. Their efforts have been acclaimed by the governments and peoples of host nations. Darfur lies on the edge of a desert with complex geology. It is one of the regions afflicted by the world's most severe water shortages. From 2007 to 2013, Chinese military engineers drilled 14 wells in the most difficult circumstances, and effectively alleviated the problem of water scarcity for the locals. To pass on love and care. Chinese military peacekeepers are not only guardians of peace but also messengers of friendship. The Chinese medical units in the DRC ran a twinning project in SOS Children's Village Bukavu to offer help. Touched by the love and care from the units, children in the village called the female members their Chinese mothers. The consistent efforts of the Chinese units over the past 17 years have won widespread praise from the locals. In UNMISS, Chinese military peacekeepers provided agricultural techniques, farming tools and vegetable seeds to local people. They were invited by local middle schools to teach lessons on Chinese culture and language, which were very popular with the students. Over the past 30 years, China's armed forces have contributed more than 40,000 service members to 25 UN peacekeeping missions. Sixteen Chinese military peacekeepers have sacrificed their lives for the noble cause of peace. As of August 2020, 2,521 Chinese military peacekeepers were serving on eight UN peacekeeping missions and at UNHQ. Chinese service women are playing an increasingly important role in peacekeeping. More than 1,000 female peacekeepers have worked in medical support, liaison, coordination, demining, explosive ordnance disposal, patrol, observation, gender equality promotion, protecting women and children, and other fields. They demonstrated the talent and professionalism of Chinese women on their UN missions. Chinese peacekeeping troops have been commended by the UN and the international community for their contribution. They have won honor for their country and military. On October 1st, 2019, Chinese military peacekeepers were reviewed for the first time by the country and the people in the parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the PRC. III. Implementation of Pledges Announced at the UN Summit On September 28, 2015, President Xi Jinping addressed the Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping at UNHQ and announced six measures that China would take to support UN peacekeeping. The Chinese government and armed forces have faithfully implemented the decisions and directions of President Xi Jinping, and taken concrete steps to honor their promises. Important progress has been made over the past five years. China's armed forces have expanded the composition of their peacekeeping troops from single service to multiple military branches, enabling Chinese peacekeepers to perform diverse tasks in addition to enabling functions. The objectives of China's peacekeeping efforts have extended beyond conflict prevention to building lasting peace. As a result, the peacekeeping capacity of China's armed forces has been further strengthened. 1. A Peacekeeping Standby Force in Position Rapid deployment of peacekeeping forces means greater opportunities to maintain peace and protect lives. China's armed forces fully support the UN in developing the Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System (PCRS) and reinforcing UN rapid deployment capacity. In September 2017, China completed the registration of a UN peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops. This force has 28 units in ten categories -- infantry, engineer, transport, medical, force protection, rapid response, helicopter, transport aircraft, UAV, and surface ship units. In October 2018, after a satisfactory Assessment and Advisory Visit (AAV) by a UNHQ team, 13 of these units were elevated to PCRS Level 2. In 2019 and 2020, six units were upgraded to PCRS Level 3 from Level 2. The Chinese standby force has been trained in strict compliance with the UN criteria and maintained the requisite degree of preparedness. It is now a well-trained, well-equipped and disciplined specialized force. China has become the country with the largest number of standby peacekeeping troops of the most diversified profile. In addition, in June 2016, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security set up a permanent peacekeeping police squad, the first of its kind in the world. The squad was pledged to the PCRS Rapid Deployment Level (RDL) in October 2019. 2. More Enabling Capabilities to the UNPKOs Enabler troops including engineer, transport and medical units provide vital support to peacekeeping missions. They play an important part in promoting the effectiveness of UN missions, facilitating post-conflict reconstruction and improving lives in host nations. China traditionally deploys hard-to-source enabler troops. After the Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping in 2015, China responded actively to the UN call for more enabler assets including engineering and medical capabilities. Twenty-five rotations of engineer and medical units totaling 7,001 troops have been committed to missions in the DRC, South Sudan, Sudan's Darfur, Mali and Lebanon. As of August 2020, six Chinese engineer units of 1,188 troops and four medical units of 199 troops were serving on UN missions. In the danger, turbulence and harsh conditions of mission areas, Chinese military peacekeepers have successfully performed all tasks entrusted by the UN including building paved roads and bridges, clearing mines and explosives, providing medical services, and supporting reconstruction in host nations. They have contributed to the local peace process and promoted the public image of UN peacekeepers. 3. Training Foreign Peacekeepers China's armed forces are willing to share their peacekeeping assets in a spirit of win-win. They have actively helped other TCCs improve training, build capability to respond to complex situation, and better perform in the UNPKOs. In the past five years, China has provided 20 training programs to over 1,500 peacekeepers from more than 60 countries, covering civilian protection and courses for senior mission officials, trainers, military professionals, and female officers. The Chinese military provided assistance in demining and trained more than 300 professionals from countries including Cambodia, Laos, Ethiopia, Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The Chinese Ministry of Public Security also trained more than 1,000 foreign peacekeeping police officers. 4. Military Aid Gratis to the African Union (AU) Africa has the greatest need for peacekeeping. In order to help the African countries improve their ability to maintain peace and stability, and provide African solutions to African issues, the PLA has honored China's commitment of gratis military aid to the value of USD100 million to support the African Standby Force and the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crisis. The first installment of the aid including military equipment and supplies has been delivered to the AU, and Chinese military experts have been sent to complete the hand-over and provide end-user training. The PLA has agreed with the AU on the arrangement of the next aid installments. 5. The First Peacekeeping Helicopter Unit in Operation The PLA helicopter unit made its first flight on a peacekeeping mission in August 2017. China's armed forces deployed their first peacekeeping helicopter unit of 140 troops to the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). The unit was composed of four medium multi-purpose helicopters and tasked with force delivery, operational support, search and rescue, medical evacuation, and logistic supply. The unit adapted itself to the unknown complexities of overseas missions and fulfilled multiple high-risk tasks. It has become an essential airborne arm of UNAMID and a pillar of the UN peacekeeping operations in Darfur. 6. China-UN Peace and Development Fund in Support of the UNPKOs To support the UN efforts for peace and advance multilateral cooperation, China has established a China-UN Peace and Development Fund. From 2016 to 2019, the fund financed 52 peace and security projects to a total value of USD33.62 million. Twenty-three of these projects were in support of the UNPKOs, which cost USD10.38 million. The goal of these projects is to strengthen coordination and planning of the UNPKOs, increase African peacekeeping capacity, provide protection for peacekeepers, and improve lives in Sudan's Darfur, Mali and other mission areas. IV. Active Efforts for Greater International Cooperation World peace is the responsibility of all countries and peacekeeping calls for expanding multilateral cooperation. China's armed forces have cooperated on peacekeeping with over 90 countries and 10 international and regional organizations. They have enhanced mutual understanding, shared experience, extended practical cooperation, strengthened bilateral and multilateral relations, and promoted peacekeeping capability through exchange of visits, expert discussions, joint exercises and training, and personnel training. 1. Strengthening Strategic Communication to Build Consensus on Peacekeeping Better strategic communication with the UN leadership is an important means to move the UNPKOs forward. Since 2012, President Xi Jinping has had 11 meetings with UN Secretary-Generals, proposed Chinese ideas and Chinese solutions for world peace and development on multiple international occasions, and reiterated China's support for the UNPKOs. In 2015, President Xi Jinping attended the Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping at UNHQ and presented proposals that the basic principles of peacekeeping should be strictly followed, the peacekeeping system needs to be improved, rapid response needs to be enhanced, and greater support and help should be given to Africa. Accordingly, China's armed forces are resolved to implement the consensus reached by the leaders. They have strengthened communication with relevant UN agencies, attended several sessions of the UN Peacekeeping Defense Ministerial and the UN Chiefs of Defense Conference, and actively promoted peacekeeping cooperation. China's armed forces are committed to strengthening bilateral and multilateral communication for better understanding and mutual trust. They have carried out active peacekeeping cooperation with the militaries of countries including Russia, Pakistan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, France, Germany, the UK, and the US. Through reciprocal visits, China's armed forces and their foreign counterparts have strengthened communication on policies, made cooperation plans, and advanced friendly state-to-state and military-to-military relations. In May 2010, the first China-US consultation on the UNPKOs was held in Beijing. In April 2015, the defense ministers of China and Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on peacekeeping cooperation between the two ministries in Beijing. That same year, China conducted the first BRICS consultation on the UNPKOs with Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. In February 2017, the first China-UK dialogue on peacekeeping operations was held in the UK. In April 2018, military advisers of Russia, France, the UK and the US to the UN Military Staff Committee visited China and exchanged extensive views on the UNPKOs with the Chinese side. In May, the defense ministries of China and Pakistan signed a protocol on policy collaboration with regard to the UNPKOs. In October, the German defense minister visited the Training Base of the Peacekeeping Affairs Center of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MND), and a peacekeeping delegation from the Chinese MND visited the German Armed Forces United Nations Training Centre. 2. Contributing Chinese Wisdom and Sharing Experience Sharing experience and learning from each other is an effective approach to improving the UNPKOs. China's armed forces have actively conducted international exchanges on peacekeeping. The PLA sent delegations to visit the peacekeeping training facilities of countries including Argentina, Finland and Germany, and received more than 180 visits from other countries and international organizations including the UN and the AU. China has hosted over ten international events on peacekeeping, including the Sino-UK Seminar on Peacekeeping Operations, the International Seminar on Challenges of Peace Operations -- Into the 21st Century, the China-ASEAN Seminar on Peacekeeping Operations, and the 2009 Beijing International Symposium on UN Peacekeeping Operations. Meanwhile, Chinese peacekeeping troops in Mali, Sudan, South Sudan, the DRC, Liberia, and Lebanon have exchanged experience with their counterparts from France, Senegal and Spain. China's armed forces have participated extensively in UN peacekeeping consultations and policy-making, and provided input on the UNPKOs. They have played a dynamic role in the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations of the UN General Assembly and the TCC Contingent-Owned Equipment (COE) Working Group, invited officials from the UN High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations and the UN Security Council to China, and offered suggestions on reforming UN peacekeeping, raising its effectiveness, and ensuring the safety and security of peacekeepers. Expert meetings have been hosted by China to draft and review documents including the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions Military Engineer Unit Manual and the Military Peacekeeping-Intelligence Handbook, and Chinese experts have been sent to participate in updating the manuals of UN peacekeeping infantry, force protection, aviation, transport, medical support units and civil-military cooperation. 3. Extending Cooperation on Joint Exercises and Training to Build Capability Joint exercises and training are important as a means of improving the UN's peacekeeping capability and its talent pool. To learn from each other and improve skills, China's armed forces have conducted various peacekeeping exercises and training with the UN, and with relevant countries and regional organizations. In June and July 2009, China and Mongolia held a joint exercise codenamed Peacekeeping Mission-2009 in Beijing. In addition, China's armed forces have sent military personnel to participate in multilateral engagements including the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Group Table-Top Exercise on Peacekeeping Operations in the Philippines in February 2014, the Khan Quest multinational peacekeeping exercises in Mongolia from 2015 to 2019, the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations and Humanitarian Mine Action field training exercises in India in March 2016 and in Indonesia in September 2019, peacekeeping table-top exercises in Thailand in May 2016 and May 2018, and the multinational computer-assisted command-post exercise Viking 18 in Brazil in April 2018. China's armed forces established a specialized peacekeeping training institution in June 2009. Since then, the PLA has run over 20 international training programs for UN peacekeepers, including the UN Military Observers Course, the UN Staff Officers Course, the UN Peacekeeping Training of Trainers Course for Francophone Countries, and the UN Senior National Planners Course. The PLA has also invited UN experts and senior instructors from other countries for pre-deployment training of Chinese peacekeeping troops and military professionals, and sent instructors to assist peacekeeping training in countries including Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Thailand, and Vietnam. More than 100 PLA officers have attended courses or observed exercises hosted by the UN or other TCCs. V. Contributing to Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind The world is going through profound changes unseen in a century, and the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating such changes. Uncertainties and destabilizing factors in the international security situation are on the rise, and there are diverse threats to world peace. The UNPKOs are faced with multiple challenges, including increasing constraints, heavier tasks, and a more complex security environment. China will continue to play its part as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, firmly support and participate in the UNPKOs, actively respond to the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative, and support reasonable and necessary reforms in the UNPKOs. China will contribute its fair share to building an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity. 1. Upholding the Vision of a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind and Working Together to Promote World Peace In today's world, people in conflict-ridden areas are still suffering. They have a deep yearning for peace, higher hopes of the UN, and greater expectations of peacekeeping operations. Countries should treat each other with respect and equality. Disputes and problems should be settled through dialogue and consultation with the maximum sincerity and patience. No country should willfully resort to threat or use of force, or undermine world peace and the national interests of sovereign states. Instead, countries should commit themselves to raising the awareness that people across the world are members of a community of shared destiny. They should uphold humanitarianism, and increase support for and participation in the UNPKOs. China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, scale up support for and involvement in the UNPKOs, and join forces with other countries to promote a sound and reasonable UN peacekeeping reform. China's armed forces will endeavor to play a stronger role in the UNPKOs, comprehensively improve peacekeeping capability, faithfully fulfill their responsibilities, and contribute more to world peace. 2. Improving the Peacekeeping System and Addressing Both the Symptoms and Root Causes of Conflict Only by giving equal attention to development and security and by addressing both the symptoms and root causes of conflict can sustainable peace be assured. Peacekeeping operations should be aligned with preventive diplomacy and other peace-related endeavors, and at the same time coordinated with political mediation, rule of law, national reconciliation, and improvement of living standards. China supports the UN in improving the peacekeeping system. With a focus on the primary tasks of the UNPKOs, a bigger share of limited resources should be allocated to development. China advocates that the rights of host-nation governments to independently choose social systems and development paths based on their national conditions, and local people's rights to subsistence and development should be respected. Only then will host nations be able to focus on development and reconstruction so that peacekeeping gains and sustainable peace are secured. In the UNPKOs, China's armed forces will, as always, contribute to a safe and stable environment for countries and regions in conflict. They will actively participate in medical support and health care, humanitarian assistance, environmental protection, improving lives, and social reconstruction, and provide more public services to enable the local people to enjoy the benefits of peaceful development. 3. Pursuing Extensive Consultation, Joint Contribution, and Mutual Complementarity and Building a New Type of Peacekeeping Partnership Both TCCs and FCCs are important contributors to the UNPKOs. In peacekeeping, all countries should shoulder their respective responsibilities, follow the principles of consultation and collaboration, and leverage each other's strengths for greater synergy. China supports the UN's efforts to improve peacekeeping partnerships by strengthening coordination among the Security Council, the Secretariat, TCCs and host nations, and optimizing the UN's coordination and collaboration with regional and sub-regional organizations. China's armed forces will actively respond to the triangular cooperation initiated by the UN, and provide all possible support to other TCCs and regional and sub-regional organizations in terms of technology, equipment, personnel and funding. 4. Supporting the UN Efforts to Refine Security Council Mandates and Improve Peacekeeping Effectiveness Security Council mandates are the basis and guidelines for UN peacekeeping missions, and a decisive factor in the legitimacy and effectiveness of the UNPKOs. When developing and renewing peacekeeping mandates, it is necessary to take into account various factors such as national conditions and the actual needs of host nations, and the capability of the TCCs. It is also important to reset the priorities and main lines of action at each phase in accordance with changing needs. China supports the establishment of an accountability mechanism for peacekeeping performance by the UN, the economic use of resources, and the employment of advanced technology with a view to improving the effectiveness of the UNPKOs and fulfilling the role they are expected to play. China is in favor of the UN measures in helping developing countries build peacekeeping and stabilization capability, improving troop and equipment capacities, and enabling peacekeeping forces to perform their duties. China's armed forces will continue to train more excellent professionals for other countries. 5. Giving Full Play to the PCRS and Enhancing Rapid Response The PCRS is an important guarantee for the UN's rapid response to crises and conflicts. China supports the UN in strengthening the PCRS and will first select and deploy the units of the standby force that meet the UN standards. China's armed forces will follow the PCRS criteria, continue to build the 8,000-troop peacekeeping standby force and maintain a high level of preparedness. Surface ships, rapid response units and other capabilities can be provided to the UNPKOs if needed. 6. Proactively Addressing Risks and Threats and Ensuring the Safety and Security of Peacekeepers The operational environment of the UN missions is becoming more hostile and complicated. Only by ensuring the personal safety and security of peacekeepers can the mandates of UN Security Council be effectively fulfilled. With a view to fully protecting the safety, security and health of peacekeepers, China advocates a systematic approach to addressing the increasing traditional and non-traditional security threats, and stands for comprehensive UN solutions to strengthen information collection and sharing, reinforce early warning and risk awareness, upgrade security equipment and facilities, improve medical services, and enhance the prevention and control of infectious diseases. Closing Remarks Seventy-five years ago, people across the world won an epic victory against fascism, following a heroic struggle and huge sacrifice. A UN-centered international system was then established. Looking back through history, people are more keenly aware that peace has not come easily and to safeguard it requires great effort. At present, humanity is at a crossroads: Peace or war, cooperation or confrontation, progress or regress -- these are significant choices that all countries need to make. Peace needs to be fought for and safeguarded. China is firmly committed to the path of peaceful development, and hopes that other countries will also pursue peaceful development. Only when all countries do so, can common development, peaceful coexistence, and world peace be secured. As always, China's armed forces will continue to provide unfailing support for the UNPKOs, fulfill their commitments to safeguarding peace, and bring greater confidence and hope to conflict-ridden areas and local people. China is ready to join hands with all peace-loving nations to champion and pursue multilateralism, and uphold the international system centered on the UN and the basic norms of international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China will exert itself in building a community with a shared future for mankind, and in making the world a better place. Annex I Timeline of Activities in UNPKOs In April 1990, China's armed forces dispatched five military observers to UNTSO and embarked on a new voyage as a participant in the UNPKOs. In April 1992, China's armed forces dispatched an engineer unit of 400 troops to UNTAC. This was the first formed military unit committed by China to the UNPKOs. In September 2000, Chinese President Jiang Zemin addressed the UN Security Council summit and expanded on China's stance on the functions of the Security Council, the UNPKOs and African issues. In December 2001, the Peacekeeping Affairs Office of the MND of the PRC was established. The office took on the responsibility for coordinating and managing the peacekeeping affairs of China's armed forces, and conducting international peacekeeping exchanges. In February 2002, China officially joined the United Nations Standby Arrangement System (UNSAS) level 1 and specified one engineer battalion, one level-2 hospital and two transport companies as UN peacekeeping standby units. These were pledged to deploy to mission areas within 90 days of a request made by the UN. In April 2003, China's armed forces dispatched an engineer unit of 175 troops and a medical unit of 43 troops to MONUC. In December 2003, China's armed forces dispatched an engineer unit of 275 troops, a transport unit of 240 troops and a medical unit of 43 troops to UNMIL. In April 2006, China's armed forces dispatched an engineer unit of 182 troops to UNIFIL. In May 2006, China's armed forces dispatched an engineer unit of 275 troops, a transport unit of 100 troops and a medical unit of 60 troops to UNMIS. In January 2007, China's armed forces dispatched an additional medical unit of 60 troops to UNIFIL and expanded the engineer unit to 275 troops. In February 2007, during his state visit to Liberia, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited China's peacekeeping troops deployed on the UN mission there, and wrote words of encouragement: "Fulfill missions faithfully and safeguard world peace." In September 2007, Major General Zhao Jingmin was appointed as Force Commander of MINURSO. He was the first Chinese military officer to assume a senior command position in the UN peacekeeping forces. In November 2007, China's armed forces dispatched a multipurpose engineer unit of 315 troops to UNAMID. The unit was the first UN peacekeeping force to enter the mission area. In June 2009, the Peacekeeping Center of the MND of the PRC was established, which took over the responsibility for peacekeeping training, research and international cooperation for China's armed forces. From June to July 2009, China's armed forces held a joint exercise codenamed Peacekeeping Mission-2009 with their Mongolian counterparts. This was China's first joint peacekeeping exercise with a foreign force. In September 2010, the Peacekeeping Affairs Office of the MND of the PRC and the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UNDPO) co-hosted the UN Senior Mission Leaders' Course in Beijing, China -- the first senior-level peacekeeping training program held by China's armed forces. In March 2011, UN Training of Trainers Course was co-hosted by the Peacekeeping Affairs Office of the MND of the PRC and the UNDPO for the first time. In July 2011, Chinese engineer and medical units committed to UNMIS were transferred to the newly-established UNMISS. The transport unit completed its tasks and returned home. In June 2013, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid a visit to China, during which he visited the Peacekeeping Center of the MND of the PRC. In December 2013, China's armed forces dispatched an engineer unit of 155 troops, a force protection unit of 170 troops and a medical unit of 70 troops to MINUSMA. In October 2014, the Peacekeeping Affairs Office of the MND of the PRC hosted the International Forum for the Challenges of Peace Operations 2014 in collaboration with the China Institute for International Strategic Studies and Folke Bernadotte Academy of Sweden. Eighty-six delegates from the UN and 19 countries participated in the event. In January 2015, China's armed forces dispatched the first infantry battalion of 700 troops to UNMISS. In April 2015, the defense ministers of China and Vietnam signed an MOU on peacekeeping cooperation. In May 2015, China's armed forces dispatched an additional construction engineer unit of 200 troops to UNIFIL. In June 2015, China's armed forces sent troops to participate for the first time in the Khan Quest multinational peacekeeping exercise in Mongolia. In June 2015, the UN Peacekeeping Operations Protection of Civilians Course was co-hosted by the Peacekeeping Affairs Office of the MND of the PRC and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). In September 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping at UNHQ and put forth four propositions and six measures that China would take to support and improve the UNPKOs. In November 2015, China's armed forces held a photo exhibition entitled "In Course of Peace -- Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of China's Armed Forces in UN Peacekeeping Operations" at UNHQ. In July 2016, during his visit to China, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the first peacekeeping helicopter unit to be dispatched to Sudan's Darfur by China's armed forces. In January 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech entitled "Work Together to Build a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind" and provided a profound, comprehensive and systematic analysis of the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind at the UN Office at Geneva. In June 2017, China's armed forces dispatched the first helicopter unit of 140 troops to UNAMID. In September 2017, the 8,000-strong Chinese peacekeeping standby force completed its PCRS registration. In December 2017, as deputy chair of the expert working group, China hosted the drafting of UN Military Peacekeeping-Intelligence Handbook. In May 2018, China and Pakistan signed a protocol on policy collaboration with regard to the UNPKOs in Islamabad. In June 2018, the Peacekeeping Affairs Office was restructured into the Peacekeeping Affairs Center of the MND of the PRC, and the Peacekeeping Center into the Training Base of the Peacekeeping Affairs Center of the MND of the PRC. In September 2018, representatives of China's peacekeeping troops attended the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). In October 2018, 13 units of the Chinese peacekeeping standby force passed the UN assessment and were elevated to PCRS Level 2. In December 2018, as deputy chair of the expert working group, China hosted the updating of the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions Military Engineer Unit Manual. In 2019 and 2020, six units of the Chinese peacekeeping standby force passed the UN assessment and were elevated from PCRS Level 2 to Level 3. In October 2019, a grand celebration was held in Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC. The Chinese military peacekeepers were reviewed by the country and the people for the first time in a National Day military parade. Annex II Participation in UN Peacekeeping Missions

Annex 2

Annex 2

Annex III Service Personnel Fatalities on UN Peacekeeping Missions

Annex 3

Youth Congress activists protest on the 70th birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on National Unemployment Day at the front of the Income Tax Building in Kolkata, India on Thursday. These activists carried out a nationwide campaign by taking out protest marches and unfurling huge banners demanding jobs. Photo: AFP

The Meeting of BRICS National Security Advisors on Thursday is a good opportunity to ease the ongoing border tensions between China and India, with experts saying that expectations of disengagement and de-escalation near the Line of Actual Control are high. But whether border tensions can be peacefully settled before winter depends on India's sincerity. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, will attend the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) videoconference organized by Russia. Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is also expected to attend. While the agenda focuses on terrorism, cybersecurity and cooperation, and no meeting between China and India has been scheduled so far, expectations that Yang and Doval will use the platform to take the dialogue forward on disengagement and easing border tensions are running high. Even when multiple rounds of talks failed to ease tensions, with a troop build-up in the region, the two countries did not stop seeking opportunities for talks. Chinese observers view the BRICS as an important platform for the two countries to discuss the border issues and reach some common ground, with Russian mediation. Zhao Gancheng, director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times that since Yang and Doval have known each other for a long time, the meeting at BRICS brings hopes of peace, and shows their willingness to pursue as many opportunities as possible to handle the tensions. But Zhao said that whether the ultimate solution will be reached depends on India, as it has been showing no sign of conceding since the border standoff in May, and continues to provoke the PLA. Ahead of the meeting, reports from Indian media said that the Indian army is ready to be deployed in the harsh winter months. India has also been imposing sanctions on Chinese firms and apps since the standoff, seen by observers as hyping up domestic nationalist sentiments. The joint statement and five-point consensus reached by both Chinese and Indian foreign ministers in Moscow marked a substantial step in cooling the current border situation, but none of them were realized, as India failed to keep its word, experts noted. Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that China should be prepared to face the fact that a consensus with India is possible if they meet, but should also remain vigilant over whether India can keep its promises. By continuously going back on their word, India is wasting the opportunities and high expectations to peacefully settle border tensions before winter, Chinese experts said. Their attitude to agreements has disappointed China, but China has not stopped to solve the crisis in a peaceful manner, experts said, and called on India to show their sincerity at this time as well. Since the standoff in May, officials of China and India have had several opportunities to solve the problems and maintain regional peace, including the mechanism of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS, with Russian mediation. India and China have been tasked to maintain regional peace, and that there's no reason for them to be hostile neighbors, Chinese observers said. Russia, which maintains good ties with both China and India, has been playing a key role in de-escalation by offering a platform for the two countries, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute of Tsinghua University in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday. As a neutral mediator, Russia understands the sensitive concerns of each side, and has been low-key in multilateral platforms on the China-India conflict. When Russia sold jet fighters to India in July amid the military conflict, some said Russia was turning against China, which was slammed by Qian as misleading. Arm sales between Russia and India are a long-term deal, and have nothing to do with the China-India conflict, and does not mean Russia favors India, Qian said, adding some military equipment cannot alter the balance of strength between India and China. But Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert, emphasized that solving the border conflict relies on China and India, and that Russia only plays the role of a mediator. Song believes disagreement between the two can be managed and controlled, and the overall development of the two countries must be prioritized. The various bilateral or multilateral cooperation mechanisms that both countries get involved in shows that opportunities for cooperation between China and India are greater than competition, Song said.

Based on what I know, frontline officers and soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) are brave and united. Most of them were born in the 1990s, or even 2000s. In the face of the sudden conflict, none of them showed fear. The Indian troops failed to honor their promise. A few officers and soldiers of the Chinese army went to the border area which the Indian troops illegally trespassed into for negotiation, but the Indian army attacked them without any warning, leading to the clash. At the start of the skirmish, the Chinese soldiers were outnumbered, but some of them fought to their last breath, and no one was captured by the Indian army. The Indian troops fled in great disorder after the Chinese army began to counterattack, with some rolling down the mountains and some falling into the river. Quite a number of Indian soldiers surrendered to the PLA, and were captured. In the latest conflict near the Pangong Tso Lake, Indian troops "preempted" PLA's activity (meaning they illegally trespassed the border), and showcased that they had gained an advantage by occupying highlands and throwing stones at the PLA. But based on what I know, brave PLA soldiers disregarded the Indian threats and drove away the Indian troops from the highlands. The Chinese army has gained advantageous positions at many points in the standoff. People familiar with the situation told me that frontline officers and soldiers of the PLA now have high morale at the China-India border. The Indian troops are no match for them at all. The conflicts this year have severely dampened Indian troops' arrogance in nibbling at Chinese territory, making India re-examine their understanding of China's determination, and will to resolutely defend its territorial sovereignty. Chinese and Indian foreign ministers reached a five-point consensus in Moscow last week. We sincerely hope the consensus can be fully implemented for a turning point in the China-India border situation. But this requires the Indian government and society to calm down and form a collective rationality on China-India ties. If India intends to rough up on the border issues, it will only suffer losses without gaining the advantage it wants. The morale of the Indian army cannot be compared to that of the PLA, nor can the Indian army's equipment or India's national strength be matched to those of China. As far as I know, the PLA has fortified its position at the China-India border area, and its logistical capability is highly advanced. The PLA officers and soldiers on site can enjoy a variety of hot dishes. It is no problem for them to spend the winter there. The PLA can launch a heavy counterattack at the Indian army's new provocation at any time, and Chinese people believe that the PLA will never be gentle to the provocative Indian troops in the future. This means the Indian army will not become a bargaining chip for India to realize its unreasonable demands at the border. Resolving disputes through negotiations is not only a good choice for both sides, but the only option for India. Last but not least, I would like to pay tribute to the brave frontline PLA officers and soldiers, to the heroic souls of the martyrs, and to the diplomats fighting on complicated forefronts. The author is editor-in-chief of the Global Times

In the big states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, that are also some of the worst-affected by the virus, demand for oxygen has more than tripled, doctors and government officials said, prompting urgent calls for help. "Desperate patients have been calling me through the night but I don't know when I will get stock," Rishikhesh Patil, an oxygen supplier in the western city of Nashik, told Reuters.

Hindu devotees perform 'Tarpan' ritual to pay obeisance to their forefathers on the last day of "Pitru Paksha," or days for offering prayers to ancestors, on the banks of the Mahananda river in Siliguri, India on Thursday. In Hindu mythology, this day is also called 'Mahalaya' and described as the day when the gods created the ten-armed goddess Durga to destroy the demon king Mahishasura who plotted to drive out the gods from their kingdom. Photo: AFP

A Chinese military spokesperson said on Tuesday that Indian troops have broke their promises and again crossed the line of actual control in the Galwan Valley region on Monday evening and purposely launched provocative attacks, leading to severe clashes and casualties. China always owns sovereignty over the Galwan Valley region, and the Indian border defense troops are inconsistent with their words and seriously violated the agreements both countries have reached, the consensus made during the army commander-level talks and harmed the relations of the two militaries and the feelings of the two countries' peoples, said Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command spokesperson Senior Colonel Zhang Shuili on Tuesday. India should stop all provocative actions, meet the Chinese side halfway and come back to the right path of solving disputes through talks, Zhang said.

It is imperative that India immediately corrects its wrong practices, disengages on the ground as soon as possible, and takes concrete actions to ease the tensions along the China-India border: Chinese FM

China's national image in the international community showed a steady increase in 2019 with more people appreciating China's development and contribution to global affairs, a recent report revealed, but Chinese experts warn of a possible decline this year under the impact of some Western countries' malicious slandering of China's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the improving tendency will not change as China's efforts in containing the epidemic and international help it offered during the pandemic will be recognized by the world, experts noted. China scored 6.3 on the 10-point system concerning its overall image in the 2019 report, 0.1 point higher than in 2018. Generally, other developing countries had better impressions of China than developed countries, giving China a score of 7.2, and thus maintaining a slight upward curve in recent years, read the 2019 China National Image Global Survey released by the Academy of the Contemporary China and World Studies on Tuesday. The survey is jointly conducted by the academy and Kantar, a world-leading data, insights and consulting company. More than 11,000 respondents from 22 countries, including the US, India, participated in the survey. China is seen by the respondents as the second most influential country in global affairs following the US. The country got a score of 6.3 points in terms of its contribution to global governance and 6.2 points for its performance in domestic affairs, according to the survey. Regarding its participation in global governance, the international community thought highly of China in the field of science and technology (66 percent), economy (63 percent) and culture (57 percent). Overseas respondents had better impressions of China's participation in cultural programs and on security issues, both up 4 percentage points on the 2018 survey. Also, 68 percent of the overseas respondents has a positive assessment of China's technological innovation capacity. High-speed rail (44 percent) was China's best-known technological achievement, followed by supercomputer (24 percent) and manned space technology (23 percent). The top five countries whose respondents has the best impression of China are Mexico (7.8 points), Saudi Arabia (7.6 points), Indonesia (7.4 points), Russia (7.4 points) and India (7.4 points). Compared with the previous survey, India replaced Chile, as one of the top five countries with the best impression of China, according to the report. The improving international image reflects an increasingly recognition of China's achievements and efforts in the past years, Chinese experts said. They warned for a possible decline in world's good impression of China in 2020 report due to Western countries' malicious slandering of China during the pandemic. Indian people's impression on China may also be affected given the two sides' border conflicts and India's unfairly targeting of Chinese mobile apps in 2020.  However, the overall trend  toward improvement of China's national image would not change, experts said. "As the first country to step out of the epidemic, China works with the world to tide over the crisis and contributes to the world's battle against the pandemic. The efforts have been widely recognized by most developing countries," Gao Anming, deputy director of China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, noted at the release of the survey on Tuesday in Beijing. China's economy has been the foundation for the global economy during pandemic and China is expected to make huge contributions to global economy in the near future, Li Huailiang, director of the Institute for a Community with Shared Future, Communication University of China, said at the survey's release. China is the only G20 country recording GDP growth (11.5 percent) in the second quarter of 2020. Among G20 economies, China recorded the highest annual growth (3.2 percent), while India recorded the largest annual fall (minus 23.5 percent), according to a report of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development released on Monday.

India is engaging in psychological warfare by claiming that its army is preparing for winter as tensions between China and India rise, observers said, noting that neither the transportation nor the supplies of the Indian army in the glacier-covered region is as good as India claims. 

The Indian army is ready to be deployed in the harsh winter months as it has stocked up all essential supplies, including food, clothing and fuel for soldiers in Ladakh, Indian Major Gen. Arvind Kapoor was cited by ANI as saying on Tuesday. Kapoor also said that India's logistics infrastructure is so smartly built that any formation coming from the outside can join the units seamlessly and be effective. "India is engaging in psychological warfare and wants to portray itself as tough to pacify its people. However, its infrastructure construction to the Ladakh area and ability to conduct large-scale operations in winter, and to supply frontline soldiers are not as good as it claims," Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute of Tsinghua University in Beijing, told the Global Times on Wednesday. Although the Indian army has gained rich experience in stationing or having very small operation in high, cold glacier covered regions, its non-combat death rate in these areas remains high, Qian said. "Weather and terrain in Ladakh are the major challenges for large-scale military operations in winter, which requires smooth and quick logistical support and medical supplies," Qian said, noting that India is short in these areas. Transportation infrastructure is another factor that limits the Indian army. There are no complete railways to the Ladakh area, and the roads are not good enough to swiftly transfer soldiers. The Indian army uses military transport planes to fortify the number of soldiers and tanks to the border areas. Hindustan Times has reported since 2019 that India has sharpened its focus on scaling up infrastructure along the border, and set a target of three years to complete all 61 strategic road projects along its northern frontier. After the skirmish in Galwan Valley, two Indian soldiers died in accidents in "constructing a bridge" in the area, the India Express reported. China has an advantage in logistical support, transportation and infrastructure construction in its northwest region, observers said, noting that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has organized a large-scale operation featuring thousands of paratroopers and armored vehicles to the Tibet Autonomous Region from Central China's Hubei Province. The entire process was completed in just a few hours, demonstrating China's capability to rapidly reinforce border defenses when necessary.

Amitabh Bachchan Photo: AFP

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan will be the first Indian celebrity to lend his voice to Amazon's Alexa digital assistant starting in 2021, as the Silicon Valley giant expands its presence in the massive market. The 77-year-old actor has been a household name in India for nearly half a century, and his deep baritone is instantly recognizable to listeners in the country of 1.3 billion. Foreign firms such as Amazon have spent tens of billions of dollars in India in recent years as they fight for a piece of the Asian giant's burgeoning digital economy. In a blog post on Monday, Amazon India said Bachchan's "voice experience" feature will become available for purchase on Alexa in 2021. "It will include popular offerings like jokes, weather, shayaris [poetry], motivational quotes, advice and more," the firm said. Alexa first rolled out celebrity voice options in 2019 with actor Samuel L. Jackson, following a similar move by Google in 2018, which gave users the option of hearing singer John Legend on the Google Assistant. "I am excited to create this voice experience," the Bollywood megastar said on Amazon's blog. "With voice technology, we are building something to engage more effectively with my audience and well-wishers." His earlier foray into vocal blogging in 2010, Bachchan Bol-Bachchan Speak, allowed fans to listen to pre-recorded messages by the star at the push of a button. In addition to competing with voice-activated devices such as Apple's Siri and Google Assistant for consumers, Amazon is battling Walmart-backed Flipkart and JioMart, owned by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, for a share of the online retail market. The tech giant, which is owned by Jeff Bezos, the world's richest person, is also trying to win eyeballs with its streaming service that competes with Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar. Bachchan and his family have been among India's highest-profile coronavirus patients. The superstar, his actor son Abhishek, actress daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai, and granddaughter Aaradhya were all admitted to the hospital in July. All four have since been released. The veteran star returned to work in August filming India's version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? after authorities eased coronavirus curbs on movie and TV shoots. Nevertheless, with cases in India nearing 5 million, authorities in Mumbai - the home of Bollywood - have asked production houses to ensure that common facilities are regularly sanitized, masks worn and social distancing "followed as far as possible." Bachchan's last film, comedy-drama Gulabo Sitabo, went straight to Amazon's streaming service in June, after theaters in India shut down in March due to pandemic fears.

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

In a speech before the Indian parliament on Tuesday, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh asserted that the border dispute with China remains "unresolved" for now, and blamed China for "violating" the border agreement with India. Chinese experts warned on Tuesday that such a hard-line attitude may see border tensions extend into winter. Chinese analysts noted that Singh is trying to ensure domestic support and defense budgets from parliament, especially amid the unprecedented economic recession, so he won't admit that it was India which took the initiative to violate the agreement and unilaterally change the status quo. But the Indian defense minister on Tuesday also said India is committed to a peaceful resolution of the current border stand-off with China in Ladakh, according to the Times of India. Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday that "the Indian army is facing great pressure as winter approaches, with the logistical costs potentially being huge, and due to a horrible economic recession, Indian leaders understand that they are unable to launch a war against China." Data released by the National Statistical Office of India on August 31 showed India's GDP in the April-June quarter of 2020-21 slumped 23.9 percent. Among major economies, India's contraction was the sharpest, the Times of India reported. "But in the Indian military, most soldiers are of low caste, so even if they suffer hundreds of non-combat casualties every year in the stand-off with Pakistan due to cold weather, the government can still bear the pressure as the decision-makers don't really care about the lives of low caste individuals," Hu said. New Delhi is likely to let Indian troops do the same in Ladakh, and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) should be prepared for a long-term stand-off with tensions likely extend into winter, Hu noted, adding that although India dares not fight a war, small provocations would happen occasionally. Blame game and overconfidence Singh assured members of parliament that Indian troops are "ready to deal with any situation," despite the current situation being very different from what India has had to encounter previously in terms of troops and the number of friction points. He laid the blame of escalation on "China's actions," according to Indian media Business Insider. "Chinese forces have been engaging in violent conduct. They have increased troop numbers and weaponry," said Singh. Highlighting the points of friction - like eastern Ladakh, Gogra, Kongka La, and Pangong Lake's north and south banks - he accused China of violating the 1993 and 1996 agreements the two countries reached. "Singh is telling the parliament that the long-term stand-off would be costly and Indian taxpayers should pay more to support the military, but in fact, it was Indian troops who broke the agreements numerous times, by firing into the air on the border and attacking Chinese soldiers to escalate tension, and the Indian military should be held accountable for the unnecessary spending and casualties," said a Chinese expert who is familiar with the matter but requested anonymity. Liu Zongyi, secretary general of China and South Asia Cooperation Research Center at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday that, until today, India has deployed more troops than the Chinese military in the border region, and the 1993 and 1996 agreements between the two countries stated that the two sides are not allowed to use guns on the border, but it was the Indian military who broke the agreement first on September 8. Singh's statement displayed overconfidence originating from an overestimation of the Indian army's capabilities, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday. India believes that it has more frontline troops, and has prepared for a longer period of time, and that it is competent enough to win against the PLA. This is an illusion, Song said, noting that instigation from the US and India's domestic factional struggle will not let India realize its actual situation. Due to this illusionary confidence, India has already provoked China by crossing the LAC into the Chinese side. If it does not leave and all diplomatic attempts fail, the PLA will be left with no other choice but to push them out by force, Song said. The PLA, unlike the Indian army, is not overconfident, but aware that it can deal with the Indian aggression, Song said. The PLA, unlike the Indian army, is not overconfident, but fully aware that it can deal with Indian aggression, Song said. China's military strength, including that in the border region, is far more superior to that of India in key areas including equipment, logistics, tactics and strategies, analysts said. Liu said the Indian defense minister's speech on Tuesday showed that the Modi administration is facing heavy domestic pressure, and now they are suffering from a dilemma. Launching a war against China will see it defeated badly, but withdrawing its troops to end the tension will disappoint domestic nationalists. "This is very similar to the situation before the 1962 China-India border conflict, which is not a good sign for the two sides to solve the issue peacefully," Liu further said.

China's J-20 stealth fighter jet displays its new coating of stealth material and flies over the exhibition hall at Airshow China 2018. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

Despite being heavily outnumbered, a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) pilot scored a 17:0 victory against opponents with a newly commissioned fighter jet in a recent combat exercise. Many clues suggest that the aircraft the pilot flew was likely the J-20, China's most advanced stealth fighter jet. If the speculation turns out to be true, the exercise result again demonstrated the absolute superiority the J-20 has over its previous generation counterparts, media and experts said on Tuesday. Indian media previously hyped that India's newly purchased Rafale fighter jets, which are one generation older than the J-20, were better than the Chinese aircraft. Facing interceptions from multiple directions, Chen Xinhao, a young pilot attached to the Wang Hai Air Group under the PLA Eastern Theater Command, coordinated with his teammate and took down 17 opposing fighter jets with no damage taken, despite being heavily outnumbered, the PLA Daily reported on Monday. Chen had only recently switched to flying this new type of warplane and had just flown with it for 100 hours, the PLA Daily said. The PLA Daily report did not specify what fighter jet Chen flew. The PLA Air Force announced in 2019 that the Wang Hai Air Group was equipped with the J-20, and in January, it showed the first scenes of J-20 fighter jets of the Wang Hai Air Group conducting real-combat scenario exercises. The Wang Hai Air Group is the first in the PLA to have fully switched to using the J-20 fighter jets, so the new fighter jet Chen operated must have been the J-20, Shanghai-based news website eastday.com said in a report on Monday. Xi'an-based defense magazine Ordnance Industry Science Technology also said on Monday that Chen very likely used the J-20. "Even though the PLA Daily used an illustration of Su-30MKKs in the report, given the capability of this kind of fighter jet, it cannot win this kind of landslide victory," it said. If the speculation is true, the exercise once again demonstrated the overwhelming advantage the J-20 has over its previous generation counterparts, Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday. This is because of the J-20's superior capabilities in fields including stealth, situational awareness, maneuverability and weapons, according to Fu. China's current training is real-combat oriented, and if the J-20 can score an overwhelming advantage in mock battles, it will do the same in real combat, Fu predicted. In July, when India received delivery of five Rafale fighter jets, India's former air chief marshal B.S. Dhanoa claimed that it was "a game changer, and the Chinese J-20 does not even come close," the Hindustan Times reported at the time. The Rafale is only a third-plus generation (or fourth-plus generation in Western classification) fighter jet, resulting in a generational gap with the J-20, and will find it very difficult to confront a stealth-capable fourth (fifth) generation fighter jet like the J-20, Chinese experts said then. Forbes reported in mid-August that two J-20s momentarily appeared at Hotan Airport in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, about 320 kilometers from the China-India border region.

In its latest move of outrageous nationalism against China, an India media outlet published an animation "Modi - The App Hunter," in which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was depicted as a machine-gun shooter slaughtering civilian characters representing popular Chinese apps like WeChat and TikTok.

While many Indians are excessively indulging in the distorted nationalism sentiment in the comment section, some Indian people are seeing the animation as a sarcastic piece, calling it the "economy shooter." An Indian national even asked in retort, "no episode about the minus 23.9 percent GDP?" Clearly, the rational minds in India are raising their voices of complaint that the Modi government's economic and diplomatic policies are missing the point and keep moving in the wrong direction. India's top priority should be to stabilize its sagging economy amid raging COVID-19 pandemic rather than to fuel nationalist sentiment toward China by banning Chinese apps that actually creates jobs for Indians. India's economy has been experiencing a protracted deep recession, with its GDP contracting by a staggering 23.9 percent in the three months to June. The 23.9 percent contraction marks India's worst plunge since it started compiling quarterly GDP data in 1996. Rating agencies have also been cutting India's GDP forecast for the coming months. The S&P Global Ratings said on Monday that it was expecting India's economy to shrink by 9 percent in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, larger than its previous estimate of a 5 percent contraction, as the country reels under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A few days earlier, Moody's had lowered its forecast of India's GDP growth to negative 11.5 percent for the current fiscal year, while Fitch cut its forecast for India's GDP to negative 10.5 percent for the year. The World Bank also warned that India is at risk of losing hard-won gains against poverty as the pandemic is pushing millions of Indians back to poverty. In its India Development Update published last month, the World Bank pointed out that between 2011-12 and 2015, poverty in the South Asian country declined from 21.6 percent to 13.4 percent at the international poverty line. However, preliminary analysis following the national COVID-19 lockdown suggests these gains are rapidly eroding. Behind India's recession are several unusual factors. Chief among them is its poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its national lockdowns, India is still far from containing spread of the coronavirus, with the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases recorded in the world, second only to the US. Because of the spreading pandemic, domestic consumption, private investment and exports have all taken a precipitation, which has become an "unbearable weight" for New Delhi. Concerns about economic and pandemic conditions are causing some economists and more and more people to express dissatisfaction with Modi's policies. They believe that Modi's ban against more than 200 Chinese apps will not help solve India's current economic problems and China-India border issues. They are realizing that these are just propaganda of the Indian government, and they are increasingly weary of such moves. After Modi posted a video - featuring him feeding grains to peacocks - recently on his social media feeds, some Indian politicians criticized that Indian people should save their own lives because Modi is so "busy with peacock." As the coronavirus pandemic has caused devastating losses on the country's economy and public health, more and more Indians have realized that boycotting Chinese apps will not help India change its unfavorable economic situation at home. As time goes by, more Indian people will become rational regarding China-India relations. The rational people will realize that India's economic problems can't be solved by acting on impulse. Some Indian economists noted that if India wants to develop, resisting China won't help. India can learn a lot from China's experiences. What is the real problem between China and India? The real imbalance in trade between China and India and the backward manufacturing industry in India are the real structural problems. These structural problems need to be resolved rationally. The author is an associate research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh addressed parliament on Tuesday. Singh bragged of how righteous and brave Indian troops were, while emphasizing the importance of peacefully resolving the border crisis to China-India ties. The latter part was the keynote of his speech.

Indian military's moves on border areas have eased these days, which coincided with Singh's address. This is the result of strong pressure from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). The PLA has been increasing its deployment in China-India border areas and taking resolute actions, which have formed an overwhelming momentum to annihilate the Indian troops on site once an armed clash breaks out. It has made the Indian army truly feel that engaging in a military confrontation with China is a gamble they simply cannot afford. There are different forces in India. Some ultra-nationalist ones stubbornly refuse the easy way, and stick to the hard way. When China engages in diplomatic negotiations with India, it must also use the only language those forces could understand - cooperation will last long when it is achieved through struggles. China should continue to strive for a peaceful settlement of China-India border disputes, but must keep its army prepared. Without strong military pressure, India won't behave on border issues. The author is editor-in-chief of the Global Times.  

The Pakistani army said on Sunday that one civilian was killed and four others were injured when Indian forces indiscriminately fired along the Line of Control (LOC) in the disputed Kashmir region, according to media reports. An army statement noted the Indian troops committed "unprovoked ceasefire violations along the LOC, targeting civil population with automatics and mortars in Hotspring and Rakhchikri sectors.

"Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated since 2019. After India revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status in August 2019, New Delhi has been concerned that Islamabad would infiltrate the regions and that more protests and uprisings may emerge there. Therefore, India has imposed coercive policy in the region. It's not surprising to see India open fire on the civilian population. New Delhi suspects that all Pakistanis in the region are so-called terrorists.Pakistan has been quite restrained toward India's moves since August 2019. Pakistan is not as strong as India militarily, but the Kashmir issue is crucial to Pakistan. If the Pakistani government doesn't show a hard-line stance toward the disputed territory, it would lose public support. As a result, Pakistan makes tough response to every offensive move by India, and takes countermeasures when necessary. While conflicts with China have not been effectively eased, why has India remained offensive toward Pakistan? This is mainly because both the Indian military and government have a sense of superiority toward Pakistan. Such a sentiment leads India to take pre-emptive strikes toward its neighbor. Furthermore, rising Hindu nationalism is another factor resulting in India's moves. Apart from disputes with China and Pakistan, India also has border disputes with other neighboring countries, such as Nepal. The Indian army might boast that it is fully prepared for a two and a half front war - against China, Pakistan and the internal security threats - it's as a matter of fact not capable of meeting such a challenge. A multi-front war is a great challenge for any country. In a bid to enhance its military capability, India is purchasing advanced weaponry from Russia and Western countries. Meanwhile, New Delhi is trying to win support from the international community, especially Western countries. In recent years, India has moved closer to the US, engaging in increasing military cooperation and signing more military pacts with the US and its allies. However, these measures will not meet India's expectations in dealing with China and Pakistan at the same time. If India were to wage massive armed clashes or even war with China and Pakistan simultaneously, no country would likely help India apart from conditionally providing some weaponry. India's current neighborhood policies, especially the ones concerning China and Pakistan, has plunged the country into an unfavorable situation. Why can't India develop positive and friendly relations with its neighboring countries? India has a great power mentality. It regards itself as a hegemon in South Asia and believes all neighboring countries should follow its lead. Several factors contribute to its negative relations with China. First, its failure in the China-India border war of 1962 has been seen as a burning shame of Indians. Second, China has a close relationship with India's foe Pakistan. After India revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status, China called for a discussion on this issue at the United Nations Security Council, which piled pressure on India. Furthermore, China has recently carried out increasing cooperation with South Asian countries. India sees this as China encroaching India's sphere of influence. For any country that hopes to advance its development, a peaceful and stable environment with its neighbors is essential. India has become a destroyer of regional peace and stability, which has played a negative role in its own advancement, and that of other countries. If India intends to achieve its dream of becoming a great power, it is vital to improve ties with neighboring countries. The author is secretary-general of South Asia and China Center at Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, a visiting fellow of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China and a distinguished fellow of the China (Kunming) South Asia & Southeast Asia Institute

For example, Indonesia delivered a message before the recent ASEAN foreign ministers' meetings, saying that ASEAN does not want to get trapped by China-US rivalry. The term "new Non-Aligned Movement" has also been voiced in Asia and Latin America. The China-US relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world today. It has a great impact on global stability and certainty. The prospect of a confrontation between the two is making many small- and medium-sized countries uneasy.

Taking the Southeast Asian countries that the author is familiar with as an example, they are more or less under pressure to "choose sides", Though some countries have made it clear that they do not want to take sides between China and the US, and some have not made a clear statement, the trend toward the future situation is ambiguous and uncertain. They do not want to see severe friction or even war between the two powers. They hope to maintain open cooperation with both. The "great power balance" which was stressed in the past is now more dispersed into specific areas and specific topics, and has come to a more dynamic and diverse state. However, the concept of "new Non-Aligned Movement" some public opinions put forward is a simplistic and unrealistic understanding of the current international situation. It corresponds to the so-called new cold war proposed by the US. This is the result of simple historical analogies and dualistic thinking.

Indeed, the competition between the US and China in science and technology, maritime security and cultural exchanges is greater than in the past. Old memories of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union have led some academics and members of the public to unconsciously compare current China-US relations with it. However, it is clear that the current state of world affairs and relations between China and the US are markedly different than the past. But we are also sure that future development of China-US competition  is not akin to the “cold war”, but an unknown probably more complex and difficult to deal with under uncertain and unstable global situations undergoing “major changes”. In this case, the "new Non-Aligned Movement" concept falls into a trap. It uses a way of viewing the international situation with a traditional binary way of thinking. It perceives the inter-state relationship from the perspective of geopolitical confrontation. Moreover, some countries seek to ease the pressure of "choosing sides" by using certain historical memories for their courses of action to ease the pressure of "taking sides" and expanding their room for manouvre.

In fact, in the field of international politics, in addition to the increasing friction between China and the United States, Conflicts between emerging developing countries, including China, and old developed countries are increasing becoming increasingly apparent. In terms of economy, in addition to Sino-US trade frictions and technological competition, emerging developing countries are gradually growing into new driving forces for the world economy, which is in sharp contrast to the decline of the developed countries. At the same time, it is worth emphasizing that with globalization, the economic development of countries around the world has increasingly formed a pattern of "you in you and you in me", and Meanwhile, anti-globalization movements have brought great challenges to the existing system of multilateralism and globalization. In terms of global governance, taking international security governance as an example, The general concept of security and the emergence of more global security issues make it urgent to change the paradigm of the political management of world affairs. This requires collaboration between countries. Therefore, a focus on the China-US competition based on the "new Non-Aligned Movement" only gives a small glimpse into the global situation in this current era of great changes.

We have seen some positive response to these great changes. We have seen ASEAN adhere to the principle of "balance between great powers" in the face of intensification of  the conflict between China and the United States. The body increasingly emphasizes a consolidation of its "centrality" within the theme of unity, resilience and active adaptation as its core characteristics. Even in the highly confrontational field of military and security matters, ASEAN still promotes regional defense cooperation centered on itself. By contrast, the "new Non-Aligned Movement" concept represents an overly simplistic and unrealistic response. Since China carried out reform and opening-up, China has adhered to the principle of non-alignment. It has continued to strengthen relations with the Non-Alignment Movement members, and is now an observer state in the organization. China and the member states have long held consensus on enhancing South-South cooperation, promoting the democratization of international relations and establishing a new order in international community political and economic order.. This is exactly the purpose of the Non-Aligned Movement. In this sense, the so-called new Non-Aligned Movement separates China's friendly relations with other member countries and goes against the purposes of the organization. Under the momentum of great changes, we need to have a more detailed analysis of new problems emerging in international politics - rather than simply making up misleading narratives. The author is vice dean of College of ASEAN Studies at Guangxi University for Nationalities.    

Asian countries are faced with common security threats and challenges. However, the current security system in the region is based on two primary frameworks - bilateral alliances centered on the US and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between the US, Japan, Australia and India. This formula has not been and will not be key to stopping security concerns in Asia. The US-dominated Asian security system nominally emphasizes collective security for the region. But in fact, it maintains US security interests in Asia. Such a structure can lead to insecurity as it deepens the regional strategy paradox. In this sense, while many Asian countries have close economic and trade relations with China, they tilt toward the US for security in order to strike a balance between the two powers. In this context, China needs to play a leading role to actively provide public safety products in the region to complement security vulnerability and help build a security framework dominated by regional countries. At the same time, the US' constructive participation in the framework is welcomed. The current security framework in Asia is leftover from the Cold War and is based upon a common imaginary enemy. It is a zero-sum structure in which some countries strengthen their national security, and others feel more insecure. There are no winners under such security concepts. The US, a non-regional power in Asia, should have played a positive role. Instead, it has been sending out misleading messages that have complicated some countries' claims on territorial and maritime issues. With the rise and growth of Asian economies, a worn-out security order can no longer address conventional and non-conventional security threats faced by the region. This being the case, new approaches are needed. A security construct with common security concept should be established in Asia. With the wisdom of ancient Asian civilizations, regional countries can set up more inclusive security mechanisms. It should not be based on power politics but on Eastern philosophy. As a Chinese saying goes, "Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire." It has become an urgent task for Asian countries to establish a more common and more inclusive new security mechanism, based on which countries can adapt to and coordinate with sub-regional security mechanisms. A new regional security framework needs to be flexible enough to accommodate the needs of the vast majority of regional powers and provide them with reasonable strategic room. The important characteristic of an Asian co-operative security mechanism is its inclusiveness - the US is not excluded but is welcomed. In addition, the new Asian security mechanism should emphasize comprehensive security. Asia is facing realistic nonconventional security challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic and poverty. Meanwhile, conventional threats - such as China's challenge to US power in Asia - are imaginary and not real. In this process, China should play a leading role in building a co-operative security mechanism for the whole region. Geographically, China links Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Central Asia. Due to China's growing economic and military power, together with its political and institutional influence, China has increasingly become the core element in the process of building regional order and security mechanisms. With unprecedented changes in the world and the rampant pandemic, there exist increasing uncertainties and instabilities as well as a lack of public security products in Asia. It is urgent for everyone to work together to adhere to bottom-line thinking and tackle shared threats and challenges. In fact, Asian countries have already had a base for their own security platform - the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). It was created in 1999 and covers 27 member states, eight observer states, and five observer organizations. Having established cooperation with important international organizations in the region, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, CICA not only meets the practical needs of regional security consultation, but it also paves the way for its gradual upgrading and development in the future. As such, it can provide a basic framework for Asian security mechanisms to flourish. It will be more efficient to build up a new security apparatus upon the basis of this existing mechanism. Wu Bing is professor of international relations at Sichuan International Studies University. Pan Xinyu is a postgraduate student of international relations at the same university.

Graphic: GT

Photo: screenshot of the video A political cartoon produced by India Today that depicts Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a shooting spree slaughtering civilian characters representing Chinese apps has drawn the ire of Chinese netizens, who slammed the Indian media for instigating terrorism and dangerously promoting extreme national sentiment against China. The video, which is widely circulating on Chinese social media, led to widespread condemnation and ridicule, with many Chinese netizens posting comments such as: "Modi slaughtering unarmed people, is the Indian media trying to advocate terrorism?" and "India is coerced by nationalism, what a pity." In the two-minute video, Modi parachutes from a plane and lands in a Chinese-style camp, then kills unarmed people representing Chinese apps, such as WeChat and TikTok, with two guns. After a big fight with his opponent PUBG, the Modi avatar wins and defiantly deletes the app from his phone. The video is named "The Apps Hunter" and was uploaded online by India Today on September 8. "The image of Modi is well portrayed in the video. Using the state machinery to crack down on private enterprises shows the true colors of the Bharatiya Janata Party in mobilizing populism. It caters to the taste of the public but also damages the interests of the public," Xie Chao, an assistant professor of Indian studies at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Monday. In early September, India said it would ban another 118 Chinese apps, claiming that they were "prejudicial" to the country's sovereignty, integrity and defense. New Delhi has already banned 59 Chinese apps including the popular TikTok and WeChat. The crackdown on Chinese apps reduces working opportunities for Indian people, and while it seems like safeguarding India's interests, the move actually sabotages its image, bringing political risks to businessmen and strangling its own opportunities in the services and manufacturing markets, Xie said. Many Chinese netizens expressed surprise that this sort of short-sighted video was being produced by an Indian media organization. It is shocking to see the prime minister of a country is portrayed as a hero in killing innocent app operators from a neighboring country. It is the product of misguided and extreme nationalism, some observers said. "An armed Modi killing unarmed people. Why are Indian media depicting their prime minister like a terrorist?" some netizens commented on Sina Weibo. "India Today advocating such a violent and bloody video is publicity for terrorism," some other netizens posted.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held full, in-depth discussions with Minister of External Affairs of India S. Jaishankar on the situation in the border areas as well as bilateral ties on the sidelines of a foreign ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Moscow on Thursday. It was the first time the two officials have spoken face-to-face since the border clash broke out in June. It embodies both countries' concerns over the escalation of the situation. Both sides hope to de-escalate the clash, stabilize bilateral ties, and prevent it from simmering into a broader conflict, or even war. It is easier said than done. How to implement the 5-point consensus reached by two sides is crucial. Since June, several rounds of negotiations in terms of military and diplomacy between China and India have been held, in an attempt to relieve the tension. Some experts pointed out that narratives and moves from India's Ministry of External Affairs seem to differ from the Indian Ministry of Defense, and they hold an unclear attitude on whether India will carry out the consensus. For example, it is reported that the first batch of Rafale fighter jets were officially inducted into the Indian Air Force on Thursday, the same day that Wang and Jaishankar held talks. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said at the ceremony that "this kind of induction is very important for the kind of atmosphere that has been created on our borders in recent times." In general, the Ministry of External Affairs plays good cop, while the Indian Ministry of Defense is the bad cop. The two ministries coordinate with each other and apply both soft and hard tactics. From this perspective, the inconsistency between the two ministries seems to be rational. It does not mean a divergence in policy between them. All the policies of the two ministries strictly obey the Modi government's line. Without the approval of the Indian government, the China-India joint press statement could not be released after the meeting between foreign ministers; neither could Singh deliver the address at the ceremony of induction of Rafale fighter jets. India's seemingly contradictory moves by the two ministries deliver a message to China that India is ready to resolve the conflict by force, but also has the sincerity to peacefully settle the conflict. Therefore, whether India will carry out the 5-point consensus will be a big test of the Modi government's policy toward China and of its political wisdom. Whether India can maintain border stability is not up to the Indian military, but the Indian government. The Indian military always strictly enforces the government's decisions. If China and India act according to the joint press statement, or there is more engagement of higher leaders, the ongoing border clashes will be relieved to some extent and the possibility of a larger-scale armed conflict, even a war will be greatly reduced. China, whose policy toward India has not changed, does not see India as a foe. Instead, China is willing to engage in pragmatic cooperation with India in a bid to stabilize bilateral ties. Though China has the sincerity to peacefully tackle the border conflicts with India, it will adhere to its principle to safeguard its territorial and sovereign interests. China will not neglect the development of its defense capability, and is capable of preventing any moves that challenge China's territorial and sovereign interests. Apart from border conflicts, many of India's recent moves have jeopardized China's interests, such as banning a wide range of apps developed by Chinese firms. China has exercised restraint and refrained from taking tit-for-tat retaliatory actions, showing its goodwill. If New Delhi deliberately ignores these signs, it will be an unwise and short-sighted strategy. If the border issues can evolve in a positive direction, the deteriorating China-India ties will be gradually stabilized. However, it will be difficult for the two countries to restore relations in the short term, especially to the level they reached at the Chennai meeting in 2019. The recovery of bilateral ties will take more time and need both countries to meet each other halfway. The author is director of the research department of the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University. 

In mid-September 1962, Chairman Mao Zedong once told his colleagues, "I have already spent 10 days and nights to think about this issue, but I still fail to understand why Nehru chose to provoke us." Fifty-eight years later, today's Chinese people are sharing exactly the same confusion as Chairman Mao because of the current Indian administration's almost irrationally aggressive provocations on the China-India border. There is a very unfortunate and worrisome phenomenon at the present that every peace-loving individual from China and India must be cautious about: the current situation is alarmingly similar to that of 1962. The first similarity is the Indian government's crude strategy of taking advantage of the international pressure currently being put on China in order to advance its own interest. In 1962, China went through probably its most isolated period: it was constantly in clashes with Western powers such as the US, which was also willing to support any state to contain China. Meanwhile, China was also just starting to break up with the Soviet Union in the Nikita Khrushchev era, which was once China's main partner during the 1950s. India, on the other hand, was one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement and one of the leaders of the Third World. In 1962, the Nehru administration naively attempted to take advantage of China's disadvantaged international environment to advance India's territorial claims. The result was India's humiliating defeat. India consequentially lost its international status as a leading power of the Third World. The current Indian administration is adopting the same crude strategy and wishes to take advantage of the current China-US tensions. But I would like to friendly remind India of the fact that the US has an unreliable historical record of abandoning its quasi-allies. Thus, India naively trusts the empty words of the so-called Indo-Pacific Strategy - which will achieve nothing except making India into a tool for the US agenda in the region. The second similarity is the Indian Government's aggressive stance and ignorance of friendly signals from the Chinese side. In April 1960, then Chinese premier Zhou Enlai and foreign minister Chen Yi visited India and participated in seven rounds of negotiations with Nehru, but the Nehru administration did not show any willingness to make concessions. Then Indian Vice president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan even used China-India relations to totally dismiss Chinese territorial claims, "What are few square miles of territory, compared to the friendship of 400 million Indians?" Before the war broke out in 1962, Zhou wrote three letters to Nehru in October, attempting to stop the wheel of war by demonstrating Chinese desire for peace and friendliness. Nehru and his defense minister Krishna Menon, however, adopted the "Forward Policy" and frequently used aggressive rhetoric such as "wiping out the Chinese army" in public speeches despite the fact that they were not prepared for an actual war. Similarly, certain officials in the current Indian administration have inherited this irresponsible attitude from the Nehru administration regarding border conflicts. Many Indian officials, including current Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, have been stressing that India is no longer the India of 1962, explicitly encouraging nationalist zeal and over-confidence in Indian society. The third similarity is that the Chinese side always feels confused about India's aggressive behaviors on the border issue. As aforementioned, Chairman Mao was quite confused why Nehru would choose to provoke China. India's provocation was totally unnecessary because China, as a strong supporter for the Non-Aligned Movement in the 1960s, was seriously willing to temporarily put aside territorial disputes in order to deepen its cooperation with India. Therefore, such provocation was also totally harmful to India's own interests because it was not in an advantageous position in terms of a military competition with China. Today, Chinese people also fail to understand why India is launching this irrational aggression. But back then in 1962, China was somewhat internationally isolated and domestically slowly recovering from the famine caused by three years of natural disaster (1959-61). China today is a truly influential and prosperous country. In fact, it is the only state in the G20 that has positive second quarter GDP growth in 2020. India, on the other hand, now has the second highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and is horribly suffering from a severe economic crisis. Militarily provoking China with such a disadvantaged position will only bring harm and suffering to the Indian people. Thus, all peace-loving people from China and India must unite to oppose the military adventurism exercised by the current Indian administration. The author is a research fellow of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs. 

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Indian counterpart in Moscow on Thursday and reached a five-point consensus that is widely believed will help de-escalate border tensions between the two states. Apparently, China and India have the desire to prevent their divergence from escalating into a military conflict, as the two governments clearly understand that a military confrontation or a war could be hugely destructive for both sides, which is a dreadful scenario which would be particularly unbearable for the Indian economy struggling in a dire contraction. There is no denying that India's economy has been experiencing a frustrating and protracted recession, with its GDP contracting by a staggering 23.9 percent in the second quarter of this year. Rating agencies have also been busy cutting its GDP forecast. For instance, Moody's lowered its forecast of India's GDP growth to negative 11.5 percent for the current fiscal year, down from the previous estimate of a 4 percent contraction; while Fitch cut its forecast for India's GDP to negative 10.5 percent for the year. Behind Indian economy's groaning are several unusual factors. For starters, despite its national lockdowns, India is still far from containing the spread of coronavirus, with the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases recorded in the world, second only to the US. Because of the spreading pandemic, domestic consumption, private investment and exports have all taken a precipitation, which has become an "unbearable weight" for New Delhi. In the meantime, the Modi government has taken various protectionist trade measures against countries bordering India by land. Measures, including but not limited to app bans, investment restrictions, import restrictions and discriminatory treatment for foreign tenders all make it impossible for India to gain new impetus from regional economic cooperation. Instead, the protectionist attitude has directly pushed up the purchasing and operating costs of Indian businesses, weakening their competitiveness and delivering a severe blow to investors' confidence in India's economic prospects. As India's foreign policy appears to be more radical than ever, perhaps due to its current domestic nationalistic sentiment, concerns over a potential military conflict at the border between China and India have not been completely dissipated. India may truly believe it has gained some geopolitical advantage over China by connecting the current border tensions with Indo-Pacific geopolitics. But in fact such a radical foreign policy approach taken by the Modi government is aggravating the burden on the economy by disrupting the government's original plans and arrangements. It should be pointed out that China's stance to avoid military conflicts with India hasn't changed, but that is not the reason for India to underestimate our resolve to defend China's territorial integrity. The five-point consensus between the two foreign ministers is a good step, and we hope the Indian government can cherish this opportunity to really ease the border tensions so as to focus more on its economic issues.

Photo: fmprc.gov.cn

Chinese and Indian foreign ministers issued a joint press release with a five-point consensus reached to de-escalate the current border tensions, after their highly anticipated meeting in Moscow Thursday evening. China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi elaborated China’s solemn position on the bilateral border situation at the meeting, and stressed that the key task at the moment is to stop firing, provocation and all dangerous acts that violate the commitments, withdraw all trespassing personnel and equipment, and disengage as soon as possible to cool down the situation.

Photo: fmprc.gov.cn

In the five-point consensus, Wang and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar agree that China and India should follow the guidance of the consensus reached between leaders of the two countries including that divergence should not be escalated into conflicts. The current conflict in the border areas does not serve the interests of either side. The border troops of the two countries should continue dialogue, disengage as soon as possible, maintain necessary distance and ease the current situation. The two foreign ministers also agreed that as the situation eases, the two sides should speed up the completion of new measures to build mutual trust, and maintain and enhance peace and tranquility in the border areas. China supports the border troops to strengthen onsite dialogue and solve specific issues. China is also ready to maintain diplomatic and military communication with India to restore peace and tranquility in the border areas. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization foreign ministers meeting in Moscow and was viewed by experts of both sides as a last resort to peacefully settle the current border clash, after previous meetings at the commanders level as well as last week’s defense ministers’ meeting in Moscow failed to stop the border conflicts. Jaishankar said at the meeting that India does not want to see the escalation of tension in the border area and India's policy toward China has not changed. He said the India does not want to repeat the old path and India is ready to work with China to ease the border tension through dialogue and negotiation.

Let me brief on what I know about the situation on the China-India border. Based on what I know, in the past two days, the border area has returned to tranquility, maybe temporarily, especially the situation at Pangong Lake. Apparently, the meeting between Chinese and Indian defense ministers and the one between foreign ministers played a positive role in cooling down the situation.

In addition, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has managed to safeguard every inch of Chinese territory, and the Indian army did not gain any advantage at all. In many points, the PLA got the upper hand  in the confrontation. The fundamental reason for the rash moves by the Indian troops is their leadership's misjudgment of the strategic posture between China and India. Signs show that through dialogue, and the firm counterattack and reactionary deployment of the PLA, the Indian side has enhanced its understanding of China's strength, resolve and determination. It remains to be seen whether this understanding will turn into stricter management of India's frontline troops. The China-India border deadlock may persist for a long time. The Chinese people should be determined and patient. We should trust and support the PLA. Meanwhile, we must be confident about the wisdom of the country's diplomats. The author is Editor-in-chief of the Global Times  

  China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Moscow Thursday evening, and they reached a five-point consensus. This is generally believed to provide an important opportunity for China and India to ease the border situation. The two foreign ministers passed on their goodwill to each other not to make enemies of the other country, expressed common understanding that the current border tensions are not in line with the two countries' interests, and expressed their wish to maintain peace and tranquility at the border. This helps cool down the two countries' public opinion. The consensus again mentioned the two troops should disengage as soon as possible, maintain a necessary distance, and speed up the completion of new measures to build mutual trust after the situation eases. Whether in terms of crisis management or maintaining long-term stability at the border area, the consensus has hit the key points. But how should the consensus be implemented? This is of utmost concern. Chinese and Indian leaders met many times and reached consensus after the Doklam standoff, but then border conflicts happened again. In June, the deadly clash happened, and Indian troops fired threatening shots at the Chinese army on Monday. The border situation has repeatedly eroded people's confidence in the implementation of the agreement. The fundamental problem between China and India is the lack of basic mutual trust. The border issue has been fully activated, forming the two societies' confrontation of wills. Both believe they have the advantage, and China's advantage is based on strength. The gap between China and India in national strength is much wider than in 1962. India's sense of superiority comes from its geopolitical mobilization capabilities. The US, Japan and Australia are trying to win over India. New Delhi believes Beijing is afraid of this since China is being strategically blocked by the US. India believes China will yield at the border of any movement in India's alliance with the US, Japan and Australia, and that China should be used to pay the bill for concessions to India by these countries.. China takes a defensive position, and on a case-by-case basis, but India is trying to connect the China-India border conflicts with Indo-Pacific geopolitics, which is a gamble. China and India have both developed over the years. Although India's GDP is only one-fifth of China's, it also has the ability to strengthen infrastructure in border areas. The two countries' strengths extend to the border, and the opportunities for frictions have increased sharply. The previous control mechanism, without the reinforcement of political mutual trust, has been riddled with holes, fuelling strategic suspicion mutually. On the other hand, China and India do not want to start a new war. The two militaries have engaged in scuffles many times, which have led to casualties. Indian troops have fired warning shots, but there has been no serious military conflict between the two sides. This has only happened at China-India border areas, which is enough to show the two countries do not want a war. But the repeated conflicts and confrontations also show that restoring peace at the border is no longer easy. If one looks closely, The problem ultimately lies with India. There are different forces in India, and the Indian government has less control over border policies than China. Nationalist sentiment through India's election mechanism has a strong influence on the Indian government. India's national strength has indeed increased, but its gap with China has widened. However, Indian society does not believe so. Indian nationalist forces always have been conceited, such as "it is not 1962 anymore," or India can come back with a vengeance on China once another war breaks out at the border. They have seriously overestimated their strength and support from the US, Japan and Australia. Some even imagine that a new China-India border war will be a joint war between the US, Japan, Australia, India and China. India's public opinion mechanism has led to frequent exchanges between the Indian military and media. The country's public opinion war against China is active. The Indian military needs to release such information as "preemptive strike" and "seize the commanding heights" to please the public. This has boosted Indian troops' aggressiveness in the border region.. Facts show that it is difficult for China to keep India rational on important issues such as the border through persuasion and talks. Our effective use of strength is indispensable. We must increase the cost of risky gambles of India on the border issue. While making diplomatic efforts, we need to be prepared to completely defeat India's illusions through military actions when those efforts fail. To maintain territorial integrity and long-term tranquility of our southwest border, no price is too high. This is not a slogan, but should be our true will and preparation under the current complex situation. Chinese people love peace, but we will also fight when we have to. This is not just a facade to the outside world, but who we are.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is scheduled to meet Thursday evening in Moscow amid tensions on the China-India border. The meeting, if happens, indicates that the two sides have maintained their political communication channels in the current critical situation, yet it is uncertain whether tensions will be eased by political will, given the two countries' huge differences on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and Indian troops' aggressive attitude. So also whether their wishes can be implemented on the ground.

For some time, New Delhi has maintained flexibility in its diplomacy while its troops push ahead aggressively on border area. This cross-use of India’s diplomatic and military hands seems to have become two strings to India's bow. Apparently, the Indian side is still severely misjudging the strategic situation with China, believing China does not wish for a conflict with India, while facing pressure from the US, and that India could force China to concede by nibbling into Chinese territory.

China, Russia and India share extensive and profound common interests and ideas, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday. The three countries are big countries and major emerging economies with global influence, Wang said during a meeting and working lunch in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Faced with major changes and the global epidemic, the three countries should strengthen mutual trust and jointly promote world peace and stability, he said. China is willing to work with Russia and India to carry forward the spirit of openness, unity, trust and cooperation, build consensus, promote cooperation, and send a positive signal to the world to uphold multilateralism and join hands to meet challenges, he added. Wang noted that there are always some doubts about the cooperation prospects of China, Russia and India, but first of all, the three countries have extensive and profound common interests and ideas, which the senior Chinese official summarized as follows. First, China, Russia and India support the world's multi-polarization, which is an inevitable trend in the development of human society, Wang said, adding that the democratization of international relations should be actively promoted for this purpose. Second, the three countries support multilateralism, which represents the development direction of human civilization, Wang said, adding that the world cannot go back to the era of "the law of the jungle." Third, the three countries insist on maintaining the authority of international law, Wang said. In particular, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence should be strictly followed, he added. Fourth, the three countries oppose interference in other countries' internal affairs, he said. The internal affairs of a country should be decided by itself, and people of all countries have the right to choose their own development path. Fifth, the three countries stand for conforming to the trend of globalization, Wang said. The stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain should be maintained, and globalization should be promoted toward inclusive and win-win development. Sixth, China, Russia and India are all committed to national development and revitalization, Wang said. The development of the three countries is an opportunity for each other, and they should support and help each other, moving forward together on the road of development. Seventh, the three countries support strengthening global governance, Wang said. The ability of international institutions to effectively respond to new threats and challenges should be improved to provide institutional guarantees for the modernization of global governance capacity. The above-mentioned common interests and concepts are an important political basis for China-Russia-India cooperation and are also the source of power for trilateral cooperation, Wang said, adding that the three countries can provide more positive energy and stability to the world by persisting in unity and cooperation. Lavrov and Jaishankar agreed with Wang, believing that the three countries have broad common interests and that multi-polarization is an unstoppable world trend. Under the current situation, it is necessary to strive to safeguard multilateralism and firmly support the core position of the United Nations in the international system, they said. After the meeting, the three parties issued a joint press release.

Chinese netizens have once again felt the unfriendliness from the Indian government amid the China-India border tension and COVID-19 epidemic, as New Delhi reportedly has introduced stricter visa rules for Chinese people. According to the India Times, China was included into the "Prior Referral Category countries," along with 33 countries like Iran, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, whose nationals cannot be granted multiple-entry tourist visas for a five-year period as a default option. India's home ministry has imposed specific provisions for Chinese people who possess business visa, including reporting to its foreigner registration authorities, the India Times reported. Although Indian media said the stipulations were made to adapt to the situation amid COVID-19, some observers said it is absurd for a hard-hit country like India to impose visa restrictions to people from China, the world's safest country amid the pandemic. India's move has drawn a lot of attention online, with over 250 million views on Sina Weibo, with many saying India is not an attractive destination to Chinese tourists due to its poor sanitation and chaotic social order. In an online poll launched on Thursday night by an online celebrity dubbed "Is there anyone who wants to visit India," 162,000 Chinese netizens picked the answer "No," while 3,300 said "it depends," and another 3,300 netizens chose "Yes," as of 13:00 PM Friday. "India's move is actually a protection to Chinese people, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic," an Internet user mocked on Twitter-like Weibo. India reported over 95,000 new domestic COVID-19 infections on Thursday, bringing the total number to 4.47 million, about 16 percent of the global cases. India has been actively provoking China and damaging the China-India ties. After banning 59 Chinese apps in June, the India government blocked another 118 Chinese apps as the China-India border tensions escalated. China has been exercising restraint throughout the dispute saga and the border issue. Although nationalist sentiment within India is still strong, both Chinese and Indian people need to keep calm and avoid causing a long-term damage to bilateral relations, Sun Shihai, an expert at the South Asia Research Center under Sichuan University, told the Global Times on Friday, after Chinese-Indian foreign ministers reached a consensus in Moscow on Thursday beyond expectations.

The joint statement and five-point consensus reached by both Chinese and Indian foreign ministers in Moscow on Thursday evening marked a substantial step in cooling down the current border situation, exceeding the expectations of most international observers and creating favorable conditions for a possible future meeting between the leaders of the two countries, Chinese experts told the Global Times on Friday. The successful implementation of the joint statement, however, depends on whether the Indian side can truly keep its word. Given the country's history, it is possible that the joint statement will end up as merely "paper talk," they warned. China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization foreign ministers' meeting in Moscow on Thursday evening and the meeting lasted nearly three hours. The highly anticipated meeting was viewed by experts from both sides as a last resort to peacefully resolve the recent border clashes, after previous meetings at the commander levels as well as last week's defense ministers' meeting in Moscow failed to garner true results. In the five-point consensus, Wang and Jaishankar agreed that China and India should follow the guidance of the consensus reached between leaders of the two countries, including that divergence should not be escalated into conflicts. The current conflicts in border areas do not serve the interests of either side. The border troops of the two countries should continue their current dialogue, disengage as soon as possible, maintain necessary distances and ease the current tensions.

Qian noted that the five-point consensus - the short and concise agreement by the two counties - plans the direction for the next phase of discussions. The consensus involves maintaining communication through meetings by the Special Representatives of India and China and expediting the completion of new measures to build mutual trust, marking an important step since the conflicts first took place, he added. However, given India's past history of breaking consensuses reached at such meetings, some Chinese experts stressed that it's still too early to pin high hopes on its implementation. While the joint press release looks fine on paper, the actual addressing of future border tensions remains unclear as India has a long history of breaking its promises, Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday. "We should not only observe what India says, but also what it does. For a country like India, the most important thing is how it acts," Hu said. In 2005, then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao held important talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before signing a joint statement by the two governments, in which both sides declared the establishment of a strategic partnership to promote peace and prosperity. The two governments also signed the Agreement on the Political Guiding Principles for Resolving the Boundary Issue between China and India, in which they pledged to reduce armed forces and maintain peace. "However, since Modi assumed power, the Indian government has totally neglected this joint statement. China has kept its word, but the Indian side has provoked the recent border clashes," Hu told the Global Times, stressing that this time China should remain on high alert. Given the country's sluggish economy and poor epidemic control, the Modi government may continue to try and stir up border tensions in an attempt to deflect the public's attention. These border tensions are used as chips to fool the public, he noted.

Becoming China's enemy not good Analysts said that the agreement reached this time is also largely due to strong support from the Chinese military. In a video recently released by China Central Television, the Chinese People's Liberation Army logistics soldiers were seen transporting hot food with ground vehicles, but also using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) packed with food, water and medicine in areas where the roads were blocked, automatically delivering the "care packages" to frontline soldiers. The logistics support could guarantee PLA soldiers an advantage in potential military conflicts when the winter comes, and analysts said that the advanced equipment shown by the Chinese military overshadows that held by its Indian counterparts. "Only a strong military can wake up India, words are not enough," Hu said. Hu noted that India's recent moves show that some forces there are trying to portray China as India's second-biggest enemy, with its first being Pakistan. "A series of hostile moves from India show it wants to de-couple from China, and replace China. However, this can never be realized. Going against China will only hurt Indian citizens," he said.

India recently tightened its visa policy on Chinese, and banned 59 apps linked to China, alleging that they are used in activities "prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, the security of the state and public order."After Thursday's meeting, Indian media kept a low coverage of the outcome, and some tried to stir up trouble like questioning whether the result shows India gave up its territory in the meeting. On Twitter, many Indians expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome, demonstrating strong nationalism and a war mongering spirit. Some accused Modi of having no courage to say "No" to China. In contrast, the outcome of the meeting was widely reported on Chinese media. On Sina Weibo, most Chinese citizens said they "love peace" and believe the country is not afraid of a war if India fails its promise. Hu Shisheng, director of the Institute of South and Southeast Asian and Oceania Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations of Peking University, told the Global Times on Friday that Indian media lacks self-discipline. There are many media outlets in India and the competition is intense. So the media organizations like to hype topics to cater to the public's nationalist sentiment. Qian said that peacefully resolving the border conflicts is important for India, as it would mean the government can then focus on addressing the country's other problems, which would bring real benefits for the people. As nationalism prevails in India, it becomes a true test of Indian top politicians' wisdom not to be misdirected. The Indian government should have the ability to restrain and prevent radical military actions, he stressed.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Tibet Military Command recently adopted UAVs — or drones — to provide logistics support for its troops that are currently stationed at an elevation of 4,500 meters completing exercise drills, with some military analysts believing the decision to employ such innovative technologies showcases the PLA’s new modernized logistics support means while also exhibiting that China is prepared for potential conflict while engaging in negotiations with India.In a video released by China Central Television, PLA logistics soldiers were seen transporting hot food with ground vehicles. In locations where the road was blocked, however, they packed the food, water and medicine, before putting them into several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that automatically delivered the “care packages” to front-line soldiers. The drills explored new logistics support modes by combining both ground and aerial means. Such logistics support could be vital if the PLA soldiers were forced to engage in military conflict. Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Friday that logistics such as those on display in the drill are key for soldiers’ performance in military conflicts, and logistics support can be very difficult in complex plateau areas. As such, they would require multiple methods to provide support including UAVs and other aviation equipment. Drones can be employed to quickly make delivery at designated points, improving the PLA’s combat effectiveness, Song said. The video also showed that China is preparing for further potential military conflicts while continuing to engage in military and diplomatic negotiations with India, Song said. The use of UAVs is an important embodiment of future unmanned warfare. UAVs can provide assistance in both combat missions and logistics support, and the PLA has shown its desire to take advantage of the drones to prepare for future military conflict, Song said.

China stands ready to coordinate closely with its partners to guide the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) toward dealing with risks and challenges in a more effective manner, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Thursday during a meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers. The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the world profoundly, the global economy is suffering unprecedented recession, unilateral bullying is intensifying, and global governance is in deep waters, Wang said. Meanwhile, it should be noted that peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit remain the irreversible trend of the times, that coordination among countries in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic shows the great strength of multilateralism, and that building a community with a shared future for mankind has become the firm choice of more and more countries, he said. At the meeting, the Chinese senior official made five suggestions on strengthening cooperation within the framework of the SCO. Firstly, SCO member countries should firmly support one another and safeguard each other's core interests. Foreign forces have never stopped interfering in the internal affairs of SCO member countries, and resisting foreign interference is a common challenge that all SCO member countries are faced with, Wang said. We must firmly establish a sense of a community with a shared future for mankind, firmly support each other in following a development path that suits one's own national conditions, as well as maintaining political security and social stability, and never allow external forces to intervene in the internal affairs of SCO member countries, a "color revolution" to succeed in this region, or the regional peace and stability to be undermined, he said. As long as we unite as one and cooperate sincerely, the future of our countries can be held by our own peoples, and the hard-won regional stability will be maintained effectively, he said. Secondly, SCO member countries should persist in unity and cooperation to jointly defeat COVID-19, Wang said, adding China is willing to deepen cooperation with all parties in the fight against the pandemic, continue to promote the establishment of joint prevention and control mechanisms in border areas, and prioritize the needs of SCO member countries after China successfully develops and puts into use COVID-19 vaccines. We should strengthen cooperation in the field of public health, implement the results of the SCO online forum on traditional medicine, and help all countries defeat the epidemic as soon as possible, he said. We should also push the international community toward adhering to the general direction of cooperation in the fight against the epidemic, opposing the politicization of the epidemic, the labelling of the virus and the wrong words and deeds that interfere with the global anti-epidemic fight, supporting the World Health Organization to play its due role, and promoting the building of a global community of health for all, he added. Thirdly, SCO member countries should persist in sharing weal and woe to resolve various security risks, Wang said. We should practice a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept, maintain a high-pressure posture against the "East Turkistan" and other violent and terrorist forces, and strictly prevent the "three forces" from using the epidemic to cause chaos, he said. We should also focus on the regional security situation, improve the SCO's law enforcement security cooperation mechanism, implement the organization's anti-extremism convention, resolutely curb the spread of all types of extremist ideas, and oppose double standards on anti-terrorism issues, he said. Noting that China recently proposed the "Global Initiative on Data Security" to ensure the safe and orderly flow of data, providing a blueprint for the formulation of international rules for digital security, Wang said the initiative responds to the general concerns and meets the common needs of all parties, adding all SCO member countries are welcome to join the initiative. Fourthly, the SCO should adhere to coordinated development and boost economic recoveries in the member states, Wang said. He said the SCO members should balance curbing the pandemic and developing the economy, strengthen the coordination of macro-economic policies and the alignment of development strategies, create "express corridors" for personnel exchanges and "green corridors" for cargo transport, and ensure the stability and competitiveness of industrial chains and supply chains in the region, and continue to facilitate trade and investment, and comprehensively promote the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road. China is establishing a new development pattern featuring dual circulation, which takes the domestic market as the mainstay and allows domestic and foreign markets boost each other, Wang said, adding that China will open up the economy further and stands ready to share new business opportunities with partners. Fifthly, the SCO should stick to multilateralism and improve global governance, Wang said. He said that countries have reached the consensus that the international system with the United Nations (UN) at its core and the international order with international law at its basis should be preserved. Adhering to multilateralism has become a foundation of national self-reliance, especially for many medium- and small-sized countries in the international community, Wang added. As a super power, the United States stubbornly sticks to the "America First" policy, practicing unilateralism, repeatedly withdrawing from international organizations and treaties, he said, adding that the United States abandons its due international obligations and seeks its own benefits at the cost of other countries' rightful interests. The United States is becoming the "biggest destroyer" of the contemporary international order, he said. Wang added that the SCO should invariably stand with multilateralism, fairness and justice, and move in the direction of the history. The SCO should firmly defend the core position of the UN, protect the authority of the international law, prevent power politics from dragging the world back to "the law of the jungle," and resist unilateral bullying that hinders the democratization of international relations, he said. During their addresses, foreign ministers of other SCO members fully recognized the positive role of the organization in maintaining regional security, bolstering development, and fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. They voiced readiness to strengthen cooperation on combating the epidemic, including vaccine and drug research and development. The participants supported closer policy coordination to push forward post-pandemic economic recoveries and sustainable development. As this year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the UN, the SCO members underlined the need to preserve the norms of international relations with the UN Charter at its basis, defend the core position of the UN, firmly uphold multilateralism and oppose unilateralism, and resist interference by external forces in the internal affairs of countries in the region. The SCO members said they are committed to countering all forms of terrorism and promoting political settlements of regional hotspot issues through dialogue. They agreed to intensify people-to-people and cultural exchanges among the member states, deepen interactions between the SCO and other international organizations, and promote the SCO to play a bigger role in international affairs. The meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers made full preparations for the summit of the SCO in November.

N.B. This short piece is an embellished version of the original published in the Huan Qiu Shi Bao in Chinese, in which the reference to India (shown in strike-through format below) has been added -- it was , notably, not there in the HQSB report. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Tibet Military Command recently adopted UAVs — or drones — to provide logistics support for its troops that are currently stationed at an elevation of 4,500 meters completing exercise drills, with some military analysts believing the decision to employ such innovative technologies showcases the PLA’s new modernized logistics support means while also exhibiting that China is prepared for potential conflict while engaging in negotiations with India. In a video released by China Central Television, PLA logistics soldiers were seen transporting hot food with ground vehicles. In locations where the road was blocked, however, they packed the food, water and medicine, before putting them into several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that automatically delivered the “care packages” to front-line soldiers. The drills explored new logistics support modes by combining both ground and aerial means. Such logistics support could be vital if the PLA soldiers were forced to engage in military conflict. Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Friday that logistics such as those on display in the drill are key for soldiers’ performance in military conflicts, and logistics support can be very difficult in complex plateau areas. As such, they would require multiple methods to provide support including UAVs and other aviation equipment. Drones can be employed to quickly make delivery at designated points, improving the PLA’s combat effectiveness, Song said. The video also showed that China is preparing for further potential military conflicts while continuing to engage in military and diplomatic negotiations with India, Song said. The use of UAVs is an important embodiment of future unmanned warfare. UAVs can provide assistance in both combat missions and logistics support, and the PLA has shown its desire to take advantage of the drones to prepare for future military conflict, Song said.

Chinese people don't want war, but we have territorial disputes with several neighboring countries encouraged by the US to confront China. Some of these countries believe that the US support provides them with a strategic opportunity and try to treat China outrageously. They believe that China, under the US' strategic pressure, is afraid, unwilling or unable to engage in military conflict with them. Thus they want to pull the chestnuts out of the fire. Considering that there is also the Taiwan question, the risk of the Chinese mainland being forced into a war has risen sharply in recent times. Oftentimes, the less we want war, the more prominent the above-mentioned dilemma becomes. Chinese society must therefore have real courage to engage calmly in a war that aims to protect core interests, and be prepared to bear the cost. In that way, China's comprehensive strength can be effectively transformed into a strategic deterrent against all kinds of provocateurs. As long as the outside world can feel such true will from China, it might in turn help us avoid a war. Of course, after all, wars cannot be fought casually, and we must win if we are to fight. Such winning has two meanings: First, it means defeating the opponent on the battlefield; second, it must be morally justified. This is particularly true for China, because China is not the strongest power in the world. The US is suppressing China. If we win on the battlefield at the expense of our international morality, we might mistakenly help the US build an anti-China alliance that challenges our strategic position even more. We are confident to win on the battlefield if conflicts are fought with neighboring forces that have territorial disputes with China. Similarly, if there is a war with the US near China's coastal waters, we also have a good chance of victory. The key is really morality. China is a rising power that has been ideologically rejected by the US and the West. The countries that have territorial disputes with China also sympathize with each other. If China does decide to go to war with a neighboring force, the international community will tend to favor the weaker side. Whether or not our moves are justified, the moral risks are high. Besides, the US will fully turn its public opinion machine against China. Therefore, we should not underestimate the complexity of a war. Before engaging in war with a neighboring force, China needs to do the following: First, we must make it clear that the other side, not China, is the one that breaks the status quo. Second, we also need to make it clear that the other side is the provocateur in a complex situation. Third, we must make the international community see that China has made hard diplomatic or political efforts to resolve tensions before the war. Fourth, the first shot is fired by the other side, not China. The international community should be fully aware of this. Fifth, only in extreme situations, if we need to fire the first shots, we must deliver an ultimatum in advance so that a just war can be started in an upright manner. If we can satisfy these conditions, I believe China can be free to engage in a war if it has to. This means that even if the US then tries to smear China, the international community will understand: China is not a country that bullies the small, but instead it had no option but to go to war. China must not fight an impulsive war. We must be fully prepared militarily and morally. Some may find such a war oppressive, but I must say that as the world's repressed "number two" nation, China is doomed to suffer from certain periods of oppression, as it is the fate of all those in second place. During China's rise, we need to keep a low profile, be patient, and bear all the complexities. When dealing with small opportunistic forces, we cannot use our power to quickly cut through the mess, but handle tensions with them slowly. We need to be able to stand such tests. To win the morality of a war, we also need to win the war of opinion in addition to being decent. In terms of external conflict, one of our big problems is that we're speaking too little and too slowly. The other side has always spoken more and faster on the details of the conflicts. We must make great efforts to solve this problem. China must be a country that dares to fight. And this should be based on both strength and morality. We have the power in our hands, we are reasonable, and we stand up to guard our bottom line without fear. In this way, whether China is engaged in a war or not, it will accumulate the respect of the world. One day, we will show our natural dignity and power without flexing muscles, and we will win without fighting a war. The author is Editor-in-chief of the Global Times. 

Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty Photo: VCG

Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty has been arrested for allegedly buying drugs for her former boyfriend, the actor Sushant Singh Rajput, whose suicide sparked a media storm in India. Rajput, 34, was found dead in June in his Mumbai apartment - with police saying he took his own life. A star with many hit movies to his name, his suicide initially triggered a debate over mental health in the multi-billion-dollar entertainment industry. But Rajput's family disputed reports that he suffered from depression and accused Chakraborty, 28, of stealing his money and harassing him. She has strongly denied the allegations. Chakraborty was arrested on Tuesday. The police have also detained others in connection with the case including her brother and a member of Rajput's house staff. India's top anti-crime agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, has been probing his death since last month. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) was looking into the star's consumption of cannabis. "We will be opposing bail petitions" for all suspects, NCB Director Mutha Ashok Jain told reporters. The actress has been remanded to judicial custody until September 22. The investigation has grabbed headlines for months, with the media closely following the back-and-forth allegations between Rajput's family and Chakraborty. Some celebrities including actress Sonam Kapoor accused TV channels of carrying out a "witch hunt" against Chakraborty.

China will participate in the Kavkaz-2020 strategic military drills to be held later this month in Russia, with troops attached to the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command joining militaries from Russia and other participating countries in elimination, joint strike and battlefield control exercises, the Chinese Defense Ministry announced on Thursday. The PLA's participation in the drills highlights the military ties between China and Russia, Chinese experts said on Thursday, as China has had frequent interactions with the Russian military in recent years, including in multiple large-scale drills, a joint strategic bomber patrol, and Russian military parades. India, which also has close military ties with Russia, has withdrawn from the upcoming drills amid border tensions with China, a move that showed its childishness, experts said. According to the consensus reached by China and Russia, the Chinese military will send troops to Russia's Astrakhan Region and participate in the Kavkaz-2020 strategic military drills from September 21 to 26, said a statement released by China's Ministry of National Defense on Thursday. The Chinese forces will mainly consist of troops from the PLA Western Theater Command, which will carry wheeled equipment and light arms and arrive in Russia via China's latest transport aircraft, the Defense Ministry said. They will join exercises including mobilized defensive elimination, joint live-fire strike, multidimensional assault elimination and battlefield situation control, and militaries from countries including Armenia, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar and Pakistan will also participate, the statement said. At a crucial time when the whole world is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic together, China's participation in the Russian drills aims to further develop the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, deepen the pragmatic cooperation in the two militaries' training, and boost the capability of the participating countries' troops in jointly dealing with security threats and safeguarding regional peace and stability, the Chinese Defense Ministry said. The Kavkaz-2020 will be Russia's largest training event this year, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. Beijing-based military expert Li Jie told the Global Times on Thursday that China's participation in the Russian drills will highlight not only diplomatic, but also strategic cooperation between the two countries. China and Russia have had several military interactions in various forms in recent years including various drills and the International Army Games organized by Russia, Li said, noting that the two countries will continue to enhance their strategic military cooperation. China has joined Russia's large-scale strategic drills, the Tsentr-2019 and Vostok-2018, in the past two years. In July 2019, China and Russia conducted their first joint strategic patrol in Northeast Asia, with the Chinese side dispatching two H-6K bombers and the Russian side dispatching two Tu-95 bombers. In November and December 2019, the two countries also conducted naval drills in South Africa and the Gulf of Oman with South Africa and Iran respectively. In June, PLA honor guards participated in Russia's Victory Day military parade in Moscow's Red Square. India has decided not to take part in the Kavkaz-2020 drills due to "COVID-19 and consequent difficulties in the exercise," Indian news outlet NDTV reported on August 30. Quoting sources in the Indian Defense Ministry, India's news agency ANI said China's participation was a reason India had pulled out of the Russian drills amid border tensions. Li said that India showed its childishness in quitting because of China, and that it feared China's presence could eclipse its role, adding that India is narrow-minded and always seeks to prevail over others. The Kavkaz-2020 drills are not aimed at any third party, and are not related to the regional situation, according to the Chinese Defense Ministry statement.

Since the end of August, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been busy meeting online or offline with foreign ministers from Europe, Asia and other countries, as observers believe that Wang's intensive dialogues with both European and Asia-Pacific countries show a diversified and active diplomacy and anti-unilateralist stance amid US obstructions. Besides meeting with the foreign ministers of seven Western countries, Wang also recently attended the foreign ministers' meetings of the Group of 20, BRICS and ASEAN countries, emphasizing the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea, strengthening cooperation among ASEAN countries, promoting intra-regional personnel exchanges in the Asia Pacific, and facilitating logistics and cooperation in the field of public health and search for a COVID-19 vaccine. Wang's intensive diplomatic moves came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's tour to lobby Central and East Europe and smear China and threaten other countries. In South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Wang held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh of Vietnam on August 23, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the delimitation of the China-Vietnam land boundary. Wang met with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjártó on August 24, exchanging views on cooperation in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) construction and containing the pandemic. Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday that part of China's current diplomatic challenges are territorial disputes, but the biggest challenge is unilateralism and an attack from the US in a variety of aspects, including economic, political and ideological fields. Li's remarks explained the frequent use of "upholding multilateralism," "supporting free trade," and "strengthening cooperation against COVID-19" in Wang's speeches during his visit to European countries - Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, France and Germany - from August 25 to September 1.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers' meeting in Moscow on Thursday, and are likely to have a face-to-face meeting. Chinese experts said this could be the last chance for the senior officials of the two sides to peacefully settle border tensions before winter. A meeting would be significant for them to solve border tensions, and with Russia's mediation, the two members of the SCO are likely to realize an agreement in Moscow and de-escalate tensions. If the meeting fails to reach a positive result, or if the two sides cannot execute the agreement at the front line, this could be a dangerous signal that China and India are unlikely to solve the crisis peacefully, analysts said. Ahead of his departure for Russia on Tuesday, Jaishankar emphasized the need for political contacts to reduce tensions and end the stalemate in the disengagement process along the LAC, Hindustan Times reported. The standoff goes against all understandings on border management dating back to 1993, and the serious situation calls for "very deep conversations...at a political level," he said. Lin Minwang, deputy director at the Center for South Asian Studies of Fudan University, told the Global Times on Thursday that in India's political system, the minister of external affairs decides external issues,  which means Jaishankar is more senior than the country's defense minister, and the meeting between Wang and Jaishankar would be more important than the previous meeting between the two defense ministers in Russia. In a bilateral meeting, China and India would show their bottom lines to each other, so that they can avoid miscalculations and underestimation, Lin said. "This is the last chance of face-to-face meeting between the two countries' senior officials before winter comes. India has high expectations that the meeting would solve the crisis. But to what extent its troops in the frontline could execute the agreement and avoid provoking Chinese troops remains the question," said a Chinese scholar on Indian studies who asked for anonymity. Although both sides want to minimize the damage and avoid conflict, they are unlikely to make more compromises, as India is facing extreme domestic nationalism, and ending the crisis peacefully with no gain could be considered a failure, while China has no space to make compromises on sovereignty, he said, noting that the possibility for a peaceful solution is fading. The weather in the Ladakh region is the biggest challenge for both sides to continue the stand-off, as the temperature will fall to minus 25-30 degrees in winter, and Chinese analysts said that Indian troops have occupied many locations with no human activity in the region. So making sure that Indian soldiers will not die or get injured from their poor logistics supply system in winter is a question. In the June 15 Galwan Valley clash, 20 Indian soldiers died, most of whom were frozen to death after being injured due to poor medical conditions. India should at least be humanitarian to avoid more casualties and stop the provocation, said Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. For China, the PLA's logistics system is much more advanced, and even during winter, China can maintain more troops than India, Hu said. No more tolerance Before the latest round of border tensions, India imposed unfair sanctions against Chinese firms and apps in India, and caused financial losses to Chinese companies, as well as Indian users and clients. But the Chinese government has exercised restraints without taking retaliatory moves. Chinese experts said this proves that China has already shown its sincerity to minimize the damage to bilateral ties, and tolerant to India's provocation. "But unfortunately, India didn't return the favor, and even made more trouble and created more tensions and expects to force China to further compromise by breaking agreements to de-escalate border tensions. This has truly infuriated Chinese decision-makers, military, experts and scholars, as well as the public, and China won't tolerate India anymore. A series of provocations proved that tolerance to India is useless in exchange for peace," Lin said. Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times on Thursday that if both sides fail to reach a peaceful solution, China should not wait any longer, and solve the crisis militarily before winter, because if China allows Indian troops to stay in the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), "the small problem will become a big problem." Indian troops will normalize their illegal presence in the region on the Chinese side of the LAC regardless of non-combat casualties in winter, and use diplomatic measures to gain more sympathy from the international community"by making China look like a trouble maker." If the foreign ministers' meeting brings no de-escalation, China needs to prepare for a military solution, Song stressed.

One important reason is India firmly believes that China is unwilling to launch a war, or take the initiative to escalate a war. Thus, India mainly engages in small-scale provocations on the border. It believes that China's great military strength cannot play out in such small frictions. Being kidnapped by extreme nationalism, the Narendra Modi administration and Indian army must show their tough position against China. They have to be tough, whether they really have the strength or not. New Delhi seems to be sure that China will not engage in a large-scale military clash, so it dares to brag about its determination. India is putting on a posture of launching a war. But by making such a posture, India's gains do not make up for losses because military mobilization requires great resources. For India, its heavy burden may become unbearable in the long run. Thus, India's recent provocations may be a sign that it can no longer bear such a burden. New Delhi is seeking a preferential deal with Beijing as soon as possible. China-India relations have deteriorated rapidly. In China-US relations, the US is stronger and provocative side. But in China-India relations, it is India - the weaker side - that has been provoking. This is a very interesting phenomenon. In addition to shifting domestic attention from the economic downslide and epidemic, another important reason behind worsening China-India relations is New Delhi's misjudgment of the overall situation. China-US relations are tense, and the situation was similar in 1962. India wrongly believes that it is facing an opportunity. It believes that China may not have time to deal with India's provocation since Beijing is now focused on dealing with Washington. India has the illusion that China will make big concessions to it. India believes its international environment is optimistic. During the 1962 China-India war, China's relations with the Soviet Union were in a bad situation. Back then, New Delhi believed it had won the sympathy and support of the Soviet Union. Now India believes it is enjoying good relations with Russia. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said in June that India-Russia relations are one of a "special and privileged strategic partnership." The current international environment has changed profoundly, but India is still immersed in its outdated strategic mindset. In fact, there are many shared opportunities for China, Russia and India, including their cooperation under the framework of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It is impossible for Russia to support India's provocation against China. Although Russia sells arms to India, it is regular sales. Russia still hopes China and India can peacefully resolve their disputes, and New Delhi has no reason to be optimistic. The US is regarded as India's major supporter. Indeed, the US has been promoting its Indo-Pacific Strategy to win over India, which makes New Delhi believe it is holding more bargaining chips against Beijing. But is Washington really trustworthy? The Trump administration claims to support India, but just look at what it has done: In 2019, the US and India engaged in tit-for-tat tariff actions; Washington also planned to restrict H-1B visas issued each year to Indians; the US also sells weapons to India at high prices. If the current US administration wants to make friends, it seeks to benefit from its friends. It seems India is still not aware of this. If military conflicts break out between China and India, the US may provide India with some intelligence support and sell it weapons. But it is impossible for the US to send troops to help India. That is to say, even with US support, India will never gain a military advantage in a confrontation against China. Indian troops outrageously fired warning shots at Chinese border patrol soldiers on Monday, and tensions have escalated rapidly. But even if a border war breaks out, China will never make concessions on the border issue. The only result is the two sides will end up with casualties, property losses and further confrontation. What is the point of fighting such a war? If India becomes intolerably provocative, then China may as well put other disputes aside and focus on dealing with India. If India acts most proactively in confronting China, it may be beaten up. India should be wiser and stop helping the US provoke China. After all, China may not fight with the US, but with India - a cannon fodder at the forefront. The author is a senior research fellow of the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at the Beijing Foreign Studies University and president of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers' meeting in Moscow on Thursday, and are likely to have a face-to-face meeting. Chinese experts said this could be the last chance for the senior officials of the two sides to peacefully settle border tensions before winter.

A meeting would be significant for them to solve border tensions, and with Russia's mediation, the two members of the SCO are likely to realize an agreement in Moscow and de-escalate tensions. If the meeting fails to reach a positive result, or if the two sides cannot execute the agreement at the front line, this could be a dangerous signal that China and India are unlikely to solve the crisis peacefully, analysts said. Ahead of his departure for Russia on Tuesday, Jaishankar emphasized the need for political contacts to reduce tensions and end the stalemate in the disengagement process along the LAC, Hindustan Times reported. The standoff goes against all understandings on border management dating back to 1993, and the serious situation calls for "very deep conversations...at a political level," he said. Lin Minwang, deputy director at the Center for South Asian Studies of Fudan University, told the Global Times on Thursday that in India's political system, the minister of external affairs decides external issues,  which means Jaishankar is more senior than the country's defense minister, and the meeting between Wang and Jaishankar would be more important than the previous meeting between the two defense ministers in Russia. In a bilateral meeting, China and India would show their bottom lines to each other, so that they can avoid miscalculations and underestimation, Lin said. "This is the last chance of face-to-face meeting between the two countries' senior officials before winter comes. India has high expectations that the meeting would solve the crisis. But to what extent its troops in the frontline could execute the agreement and avoid provoking Chinese troops remains the question," said a Chinese scholar on Indian studies who asked for anonymity. Although both sides want to minimize the damage and avoid conflict, they are unlikely to make more compromises, as India is facing extreme domestic nationalism, and ending the crisis peacefully with no gain could be considered a failure, while China has no space to make compromises on sovereignty, he said, noting that the possibility for a peaceful solution is fading. The weather in the Ladakh region is the biggest challenge for both sides to continue the stand-off, as the temperature will fall to minus 25-30 degrees in winter, and Chinese analysts said that Indian troops have occupied many locations with no human activity in the region. So making sure that Indian soldiers will not die or get injured from their poor logistics supply system in winter is a question. In the June 15 Galwan Valley clash, 20 Indian soldiers died, most of whom were frozen to death after being injured due to poor medical conditions. India should at least be humanitarian to avoid more casualties and stop the provocation, said Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. For China, the PLA's logistics system is much more advanced, and even during winter, China can maintain more troops than India, Hu said. No more tolerance Before the latest round of border tensions, India imposed unfair sanctions against Chinese firms and apps in India, and caused financial losses to Chinese companies, as well as Indian users and clients. But the Chinese government has exercised restraints without taking retaliatory moves. Chinese experts said this proves that China has already shown its sincerity to minimize the damage to bilateral ties, and tolerant to India's provocation. "But unfortunately, India didn't return the favor, and even made more trouble and created more tensions and expects to force China to further compromise by breaking agreements to de-escalate border tensions. This has truly infuriated Chinese decision-makers, military, experts and scholars, as well as the public, and China won't tolerate India anymore. A series of provocations proved that tolerance to India is useless in exchange for peace," Lin said. Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times on Thursday that if both sides fail to reach a peaceful solution, China should not wait any longer, and solve the crisis militarily before winter, because if China allows Indian troops to stay in the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), "the small problem will become a big problem." Indian troops will normalize their illegal presence in the region on the Chinese side of the LAC regardless of non-combat casualties in winter, and use diplomatic measures to gain more sympathy from the international community"by making China look like a trouble maker." If the foreign ministers' meeting brings no de-escalation, China needs to prepare for a military solution, Song stressed.

N.B. This Editorial in the on-line edition of Huan Qiu Shi Bao (HQSB) was also carried by the English version of HQSB, the Global Times (on-line) soon after y'day (Sep. 8th) under the milder title, "Indian border troops’ bravado will backfire". It has been carried in the print edition of HQSB today (Sep. 9th).       Other differences between the Chinese and English versions, aimed at audiences at home and abroad respectively, are highlighted in the usual format:

• strike throughs for words/phrases/sentences in the English version not carried in the Chinese one,
• italics font for those in the Chinese version not carried by the English one,
• important/notable parts are shown in bold font, to draw the attention of the busy reader at a quick glance.

  Indian troops again illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) into the Shenpao mountain region near the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake on Monday. They then outrageously fired warning shots at Chinese border patrol troops who came to negotiate, and Chinese border patrol troops were forced to take measures to stabilize the area, a spokesperson of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command said early Tuesday. The spokesperson pointed out that the acts of the Indian army are of a very vile nature. China has (strictly) demanded the Indian side to immediately withdraw its troops that illegal crossed the LAC and strictly investigate and deal with those who fired the provocative shots. As is known to all, the reason why the China-India border area has largely maintained peace for over 40 years. during which There were cases of military standoff, which didn't lead to serious military conflicts, because is that the two sides have conformed to an agreement not to use firearms in conflicts. Although the fierce physical clash in June caused casualties, neither side ever fired a shot at that time. Are Indian troops' warning shots at Chinese soldiers a declaration of an annulment of the agreement? If so, then China and India should prepare for a new era of bloodshed along the border. Indian side has recently behaved arrogantly over border issue. Moreover, public opinion in India shows no restraints. New Delhi, for instance, boasts that they have seized two commanding heights near the southern bank of Pangong Tso Lake, further claiming to have put Chinese troops within rifle range. In addition, the Indian side has repeatedly threatened China and the two countries' overall diplomatic ties. Apparently, India believes that it has the initiative to make Beijing ask for a favor from New Delhi. After the border clash with casualties in the Galwan Valley in June, under pressure of public opinion, the Indian government gave "complete freedom of action" to commanders deployed along the border. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh then visited the border area in July. It has to be noted that, at least at the level of public opinion, Engulfed by nationalist pathos and strategic arrogance, India is eager to further provoke China. We must warn India seriously: You have crossed the line! Your frontline troops have crossed the line! Your nationalist public opinion has crossed the line! Your policy toward China has crossed the line! You are over-confidently provoking the PLA and Chinese people - this is like doing a handstand on the edge of a cliff! Nationalist forces in India should think twice that if the Chinese and Indian armies change their agreement of handling friction along the border area to prioritize the use of gun, then what use of them seizing two commanding heights on the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake? Does commanding height make sense in modern military conflict? Between Indian and China, which country has more weaponry and which country has bigger military budget, can't Indians count out? Adhering to the principle of not using guns in border areas is goodwill on the part of the PLA and the Chinese State. The stronger side (always) acts with reason, not out of weakness. Indian nationalists, frogs in the well who have no idea of the world outside, need to acquaint themselves with the ABC of righteousness and justice.  China doesn't want a border war with India. But if the Indian side misinterprets China's goodwill and intends to deter the PLA with warning shots, its moves will backfire. China will never concede for the sake of avoiding a war. If India's frontline troops continue to fire shots recklessly, they must be prepared for the consequences of breaking the rule in the first place - they could be eliminated immediately in case of military conflicts. China is trying hard to solve border disputes peacefully. But the PLA is clearly ready for any possible scenario. The peace-loving Chinese people will fully support the PLA's every move to safeguard national territorial integrity. We have shown extreme forbearance, but we will correct some Indian forces' misunderstanding of China's state will with practical actions.  

Chinese analysts said that Indian diplomats and the military are playing an old game - being tough and aggressive at the front line but pragmatic and reasonable at the negotiating table. To handle this, China is also fully prepared for any possibility - reach an agreement with India to realize full disengagement, or prepare for battle if the negotiations collapse and India escalates the crisis.The Chinese military and foreign ministry on Tuesday slammed Indian troops for firing first in the Monday border clash and illegally crossing the Line of Actual Control (LAC) again, which it said had destroyed tranquility on the China-India border since 1975, demanding India punish the personnel who fired the provocative shot and avoid similar incidents. The Indian army's firing of shots, the first time in more than four decades in a border region between China and India, is an extremely dangerous act, and broke the tacit understanding reached by both sides not to use firearms, Chinese experts said, noting that the risk of accidentally sparking another conflict is increasing. Lin Minwang, deputy director at the Center for South Asian Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Thursday that the risky moves on the frontline made by Indian troops will impact the negotiations between the two foreign ministers in Moscow. China will show the same attitude - simultaneously preparing for talks and a fight - rather than totally refusing negotiations. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will attend the SCO foreign ministers' meeting, will meet his counterparts, and attend a trilateral luncheon of Chinese, Russian and Indian foreign ministers. To what extent the meetings in Moscow could help the de-escalation of the border crisis depends on the determination and strength of both sides, as well as the weather in the border region, because the winter season will be a huge challenge to troops on both sides in Ladakh, Lin said. China will not compromise on sovereignty, as it is being provoked. "But India will also find it hard to step back because of pressure from nationalists. So a conflict is truly likely," Lin noted. Military preparation Following renewed border tensions between China and India in the past two weeks, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been reportedly mobilizing forces, including bombers, air defense troops, artillery, armored vehicles, paratroopers, special forces and infantry units, from different parts of the country to the plateau region, a move that shows the PLA's capability and determination to safeguard the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, analysts said on Wednesday. H-6 bombers and Y-20 large transport aircraft attached to the PLA Central Theater Command Air Force have been deployed to the plateau region to train, the command said on Tuesday, a day after Indian troops again illegally crossed the LAC at the Shenpao mountain region near the southern bank of Pangong Tso Lake, and for the first time in 45 years fired shots. China has been practicing restraint and showing goodwill, which was misinterpreted by India as a concession. The latest troop deployments should hopefully act as a deterrent and sober the minds of the Indians, and also prepare for the worst-case scenario if a larger conflict breaks out, the expert said. Contrary to what Indian media would like Indians to believe, the PLA holds the overwhelming advantage in almost all aspects, including personnel, equipment, tactics and strategies, military analysts said.

Infographic: GT

Nationalist 'opium' Indian media and some Indian netizens, also known as "keyboard warriors," have always tried to keep the fire of nationalism burning and hype anti-China sentiment by spreading misinformation and fake news, with Chinese analysts saying that nationalism in India is just like "opium" to New Delhi's decision-makers, since they are unable and unwilling to control it. "Nationalism and the anti-China sentiment are useful for Indian leaders to cover their failed governance of the economy and handling of the corona virus. So New Delhi tried to hype it. It now realizes it's impossible to control the sentiment. This makes it difficult for Indian diplomats to compromise. And if Indian troops withdraw, the government needs to find a good excuse for fanatical and radical nationalists," said a Chinese scholar on Indian studies familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity. A rumor that the PLA has occupied an Indian airport in Chushul, near the border region, appeared recently on Indian social media platform defenceforumindia.com. On Friday, Indian media also reported that the Taiwan military has "shot down a PLA Air Force fighter jet," but that the Taiwan "defense authority" hurriedly issued a statement refuting the misinformation. The misinformation of was first published by Indian media outlet called "News Line IFE" on Twitter. Then other Indian media, including ABP News and Times Now, quickly joined in to spread fake news. News Line IFE deleted the tweet after it was pointed out to be fake, but it has not clarified further as of press time. Indian media made groundless speculations and published fake news based on a video circulating on social media, which has caused a negative impact, and even risked triggering misjudgments on the situation across the Taiwan Straits. The incident reflected the rumor-mongering tendency of some Indian media outlets, and their wish to distract China's attention from the border crisis with India, Chinese experts said. "On one hand, Indian nationalists are extremely arrogant and naively believe that they can beat China and be Asia's top superpower; but they are truly cowardly and insecure. That's why they are playing these low tricks to try to botch the de-escalation of the border crisis," the anonymous expert said. Here comes another hilarious example of creating and spreading anti-China misinformation by Indian media. Indian Army has returned a herd of 13 yaks and cattle to China after the animals were captured by Indian troops near the border on August 31, according to India Today on Wednesday. But this Indian media speculated the yaks carried Chinese "spy equipment" without any evidence.

With its continuous reckless moves to aggravate the border dispute with China, India is facing a disastrous economic consequence amid its losing control of COVID-19. Becoming a coronavirus epicenter of the world, India could see its GDP slump over 30 percent this year, if it bet on opportunism to cause an inflammatory border conflict. Not only did Indian troops again illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC), they even fired warning shots at Chinese border patrol troops who came to negotiate, despite the two sides having conformed to an agreement not to use firearms. The reckless move came as India surpassed Brazil to become the country with the second biggest number of novel coronavirus infections. On Tuesday, rating agency India Ratings and Research revised the country's GDP contraction forecast in financial year 2021 to 11.8 percent from 5.3 percent earlier, the Hindu reported. After a steep precipitation of 23.9 percent GDP slump in the quarter of April-June, the estimate for the whole year may seem conservative in light of the wildly spreading virus in India, already slowing down economic growth, not to mention the potentially disastrous consequences the country would see from its further confrontation with China. China-India border dispute is a conundrum left over from history. After over 40 years of generally peaceful condition, India has recently shown its intent to provoke China. Domestically speaking, New Delhi has been to some extent kidnapped by rising nationalism, and perhaps the leadership is willing to use the border issue to deflect domestic attention from New Delhi's outright failure to contain the pandemic. In the meantime, New Delhi may ponder the current international environment as an advantageous one for it to antagonize China in order to gain some bargaining chips. The US, Japan, Australia and India have rolled out strategies or policies trying to enhance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and hinder the development of China, which may have contributed to India's intent to take riskier moves and bet on opportunism. However, it is obvious that India has chosen the wrong path. Leaving behind the primary and urgent task of containing the virus, it now wants to trigger a conflict with China which it clearly has zero possibility to win. As a populous country, India has developed into a major emerging economy in Asia and accumulated fair growth momentum in recent years, which, unfortunately, would be entirely gone by a witless and wrong choice by New Delhi. Unlike other major economies with solid industrial foundation, robust economic structure or abundant capital reserve, Indian economy was very vulnerable. With the risks of a border conflict with China rising, it is inevitable that foreign capital will flee Indian market and eventually leave Modi's ambitious "Make in India" campaign a pipe dream. With daily confirmed COVID-19 cases hitting global records, it is highly possible that India will leapfrog the US and become the epicenter of the world in the near future. After months of large-scale lockdown, it is now promoting the gradual reopening of public transportation systems which would further strangle its efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. Against the backdrop of a hopeless COVID-19 situation and its increasingly reckless moves on border, the Indian economy may see a very dim prospect in the coming years. The author is director of Global Governance and Area Studies, Shenzhen University.

Following renewed border tensions between China and India over the past two weeks due to the latest Indian provocations, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been reportedly mobilizing forces, including bombers, air defense troops, artillery, armored vehicles, paratroopers, special forces and infantry units, from different parts of the country to the bordering plateau region, a move that shows the PLA's capability and determination to safeguard the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, analysts said on Wednesday.H-6 bombers and Y-20 large transport aircraft attached to the PLA Central Theater Command Air Force have been deployed to the plateau region for training missions, the command revealed on Tuesday, one day after Indian troops again illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at the Shenpao mountain region near the southern bank of Pangong Tso Lake, and for the first time in 45 years firing shots in a serious, vile military provocation. According to public media reports, long-distance maneuvers, deployment exercises and live-fire drills have been taking place in Northwest China's desert areas and Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region over the past weeks after India crossed the LAC near the southern bank of the Pangong Tso Lake and near the Reqin Mountain pass on August 31. HJ-10 anti-tank missile systems attached to the PLA 71st Group Army recently travelled from East China's Jiangsu Province to Northwest China's Gobi desert over thousands of kilometers, while the PLA Tibet Military Command conducted round-the-clock combined brigade strike exercises at an elevation of over 4,500 meters, China Central Television (CCTV) reported last week. An air defense brigade under the PLA 72nd Group Army also mobilized to the Northwest region in autumn and held live-fire confrontational drills with anti-aircraft guns and missiles, CCTV reported on Friday. Paratroopers and heavy equipment on board the Air Force's transport aircraft recently conducted a multidimensional area capture and control exercise, also in the deserts of Northwest China, CCTV reported last week. More CCTV reports and those released by the PLA units on their own social media accounts indicate that it is not only the 71st and 72nd group armies, but also many others based all over the country that have recently made similar deployments, featuring artillery, armored vehicles and infantry units. A Beijing-based military expert who asked not to be named told the Global Times that India has been engaging in military adventurism and is attempting to gain more bargaining chips at the negotiating table with China. China has been practicing restraint and showing goodwill, which was misinterpreted by India as concession, and the latest troop deployments should hopefully act as a deterrent and sober the minds of the Indians, and also prepare for the worst case scenario if a larger conflict breaks out, the expert said. Contrary to what Indian media would like Indian people to believe, the PLA holds the overwhelming advantage in almost all aspects, including personnel, equipment, tactics and strategies against India, military analysts said. When meeting with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on Friday in Moscow, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said that India bears full responsibility for the current China-India border tensions and China's military is fully determined, capable and confident in safeguarding China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and not an inch of Chinese territory can be lost.

After a video featuring an Indian food delivery system that doesn't apply modern internet technologies on Chinese social media sparked comparisons between Indian and Chinese takeaway platforms by Chinese netizens, analysts said that India's refusal to welcome Chinese capital and technology would deal a big blow to its emerging e-commerce sectors including takeaway apps. Amid border tensions with China, the Indian government has launched a campaign to boycott Chinese apps and investments, which has seen more than 100 Chinese apps banned in the country, and left future of several Chinese investments on Indian unicorns up in the air. But the boycott of Chinese technologies and capital will deal a blow to India's e-commerce sector, as some companies including Zomato - an Indian food-delivery platform - have already felt the pain, Zhao Gancheng, director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday. According to Zhao, the case of Zomato - which faced financial pressure this year after an investment deal with Chinese fintech company Ant Financial Group was put on hold - is a typical result. "So, except for investors from China, it's not easy for India to find other investors who have abundant capital while also holding internet technologies," Zhao said. A video featuring India's food deliverers - Dabbawalas, a group of about 5,000 people who can deliver nearly 200,000 orders every day without modern technology such as online ordering system with an extremely low error rate - went viral on Chinese social media and sparked Chinese discussions. In the video, named Indian riders: 5,000 deliverers send 200,000 packs of food, each Dabbawala can deliver about 40 orders every day from clients' families or restaurants to their offices with a very low error rate and delay rate without assistance of modern technologies. There would only be one missing pack every 16 million packs. According to the video, the system behind their accuracy and punctuality, which has existed for more than 120 years, is very simple and unique - only a code consisting several letters, numbers and symbols. And Dabbawalas would easily find their destinations following these simple codes. Dabbawalas' unique system sparked hot discussions on Chinese social media Weibo with some surprised Chinese netizens saying, "[It is] really without any modern technology? or is it saying that each country has its own miracles?" But, in addition to the quips, some Weibo users also compared Dabbawalas' system with China's technology-driven food ordering apps, saying despite Dabbawalas' accuracy, Chinese apps are more efficient and would help catering industry's development.

A child peeps from a window of a special train at Egmore railway station after the government eased a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the Covid-19 coronavirus, in Chennai on Tuesday. India overtook Brazil on September 7 as the country with the second highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, even as key metro train lines re-opened as part of efforts to boost the South Asian nation's battered economy. Photo: AFP

It was the Indian side that fired first in the Monday incident in which Indian troops again illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) of the China-India border and outrageously fired warning shots at Chinese border defense patrol personnel who were attempting to negotiate, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. This marked the first time that the tranquility on the China-India border has been broken by gunfire since 1975, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian at a regular press conference. China has made representations to India via diplomatic and military channels, Zhao said, noting that differences should be resolved through peaceful talks and that confrontation benefits neither side. Zhao's comments came after the Indian army claimed in a statement on Tuesday that "at no stage has the Indian army transgressed across the LAC or resorted to use of any aggressive means, including firing."   The Indian troops crossed the LAC at the western section of the China-India border into the Shenpao mountain region near the southern bank of Pangong Tso Lake, said Senior Colonel Zhang Shuili, a spokesperson of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command, in a statement released on early Tuesday. During its operation, the Indian army outrageously fired warning shots at Chinese border defense patrol personnel who were attempting to negotiate, which is a serious military provocation and is vile in nature, and Chinese border defense troops were forced to take countermeasures to stabilize the situation, Zhang said. The Indian side's move seriously violated related agreements reached by both sides, stirred up tensions in the region, and could easily cause misunderstandings and misjudgments, said Zhang. Zhang said that China demands the Indian side immediately stop its dangerous moves, withdraw personnel who crossed the LAC at once, strictly control frontline troops, seriously investigate and punish the personnel who fired the provocative shot and ensure similar incidents do not take place again.

The Indian side's move seriously violated related agreements reached by both sides, stirred up tensions in the region, and would easily cause misunderstandings and misjudgments, which is a serious military provocation and is very vile in nature, the spokesperson said. We demand the Indian side to immediately stop dangerous moves, withdraw personnel who crossed the LAC at once, strictly control frontline troops, seriously investigate and punish the personnel who fired the provocative shot and ensure similar incidents won't take place again, said Zhang. The PLA Western Theater Command troops will firmly fulfill duties and missions and resolutely safeguard national territorial sovereignty, Zhang said.

India has abandoned the agreement that restrains Chinese and Indian soldiers from using firearms at border. Indian side believes that by not using firearms, its army is at a disadvantageous position. Thus, it may want to resort to firearm to maintain Indian army's combat capability and nibble away at Chinese territories. After the China-India Galwan Valley clash in June, India has given its army "complete freedom of action" to commanders deployed along the LAC, which means they are no longer bound by restrictions on using firearms. Such an irresponsible move has significantly escalated the tense situation. Now that Indian troops have fired shots, the two sides' consensus on managing the crisis no longer exists. The Chinese and Indian armies mainly used cold weapons or physically clashed in their previous disputes. But now, with the use of firearms, the border situation will continue to worsen. India has unilaterally violated the two sides' border consensus. If Indian troops use guns, the Chinese troops will be forced to use them as well. Indian troops entered the Chinese side of the LAC, and Indian media said its soldiers have seized two commanding heights on the southern bank of Pangong Lake. These moves are serious provocations over China's territory, and they are doomed to be countered. After India suffered a crushing defeat in the 1962 China-India border war, Indian troops have always wanted to take their so-called revenge. India has strengthened its combat capability in mountain warfare, and has acquired American-made and Russian-made equipment. Its combat capability should not be underestimated. But the problem is, Indian troops do not have enough systemic and joint combat capabilities, which restricts its real combat capability. The US is India's biggest supporter. If a military clash or a war occurs between China and India, the US is more than happy to see it. The US will woo India and turn it into one of its allies, breaking India's diplomatic principle of non-alignment. Meanwhile, the US will coerce the international community to support India and resist China, taking the opportunity to build Washington's military and political alliances. What makes the US even happier is that it can export all sorts of advanced weapons to India to make handsome profit. The US is also likely to provide military intelligence to India. Despite US support to India, the PLA is capable of defeating Indian army. China claimed victory in the 1962 war, which should be a lesson for India. Moreover, the military capability of the PLA is not what it used to be decades ago. Now, the PLA is a modern one with informatization capability, systematic combat capability and joint combat capability. Suppose India's fighter jets or tanks are hit. Due to limited production capability of India, it needs to purchase from abroad. In PLA's case, the PLA can quickly make up for its losses in a military clash, thanks to China's strong military industry production capability. But it is impractical for India, a half-agricultural and half-industrial country to recover soon. Furthermore, if India purchases equipment overseas at critical junctures, it will pay a high cost and wait for an uncertain period, making its combat capability hard to sustain. For the PLA, the problem is not how to defeat India, but how to maintain peace and stability at the border. As both are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the two countries should work on co-existing peacefully and managing conflicts. India should not make provocations. If it does, history will repeat itself - the Indian army is bound to be defeated. The author is a Chinese military expert and commentator. 

Editor's Note: From September 1 to 9, 1965, the First Session of the First People's Congress of Tibet was held. At this session, Tibet Autonomous Region was founded after almost a decade of preparation. In the past half century, the region sitting on the "Roof of the World," known for its harsh environment, has witnessed tremendous changes. This page documents Tibet's remarkable progress in economic development, improving people's livelihoods and boosting tourism.

With India extending the list of banned Chinese applications again following a recent ban of another batch of 118 apps, problems including economic loss, inconvenience, entry of foreign competitors and market disorder have begun to arise. The latest tragedy was Pritam Halder, a 21-year-old Indian student, who allegedly died by suicide on Sunday for not being able to play PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, known as PUBG, India.com reported. Apart from the death, millions of Indians could lose their means of livelihood due to the Chinese app ban by the Indian government. Inconvenience and losses The ban of short-video platform TikTok, for instance, with monthly active users of more than 200 million, has caused huge losses to content creators based on the platform. In addition, brands such as Zara, Puma, Pepsi and Clean & Clear, work on TikTok with content creators for digital advertising, as the platform has a diverse and huge user base. The absence of Chinese apps in the Indian market, currently the second-largest market in the world in terms of apps download, has caused not only economic losses, but also inconvenience. An Indian businessman based in South China's Guangdong Province told the Global Times on Monday that when people choose an application, they are choosing high-efficiency and convenience. "I continue using WeChat even when I am back in India, not because I have business relations with China, but simply because the app is useful. It has all the functions I need for communication and social media. For example, you have to download nearly the whole Facebook family, including Facebook, Instagram, messaging and Whatsapp to cover the same functions that the simple application WeChat can provide," said the Indian businessman, who preferred to be anonymous. He said he could still use WeChat in India because he registered with a Chinese mobile phone number. A Chinese businessman based in New Delhi also told the Global Times on Monday that WeChat registered with an Indian mobile phone number cannot be used anymore. But with a Chinese number, message function is available while other functions require a vpn, which creates inconvenience for Chinese enterprises in India and those Indian companies that have business relations with China. According to Indian Council for Research on International Economics Relations, Chinese investors and companies have been investing for years in Indian companies, pouring about $4 billion into Indian start-ups. Of India's 30 so-called unicorns - start-ups valued at more than $1 billion - 18 are now funded by Chinese companies. New competitors The ban on Chinese apps has also led to a proliferation of similar-looking Indian apps such as Roposo, Sharechat and Chingari, a move that analysts say is an attempt by Indian tech companies to take the market share of Chinese apps. Local internet companies are using the populism in India coming from the border tensions to take more market share as India excludes powerful Chinese competitors from the market, Bao Jianyun, professor in the School of International Studies and director of the Center for International Political Economy Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Monday. "India's ban on Chinese apps will lead to the entry into the Indian market of apps that were not competitive before the ban, which will lower the overall competitiveness of the Indian market and bring disorder to the market. US support behind India cannot be ruled out either. Driving Chinese companies out of India will also help US internet companies carve up the Indian market, which may eventually lead to monopoly with Chinese competitors," Bao noted. The recent ban on 118 more Chinese apps has created opportunities not only for local tech companies, but also for US tech giants such as Facebook and Apple to develop in India, which is a win-win situation for both India and the US, CNBC reported. Hard to carve up For e-sports companies such as Indian Gaming Federation (IGL), whose YouTube channel has been broadcasting daily livestream of PUBG during the coronavirus lockdown, total views and viewing time increased by more than 1,000 percent, thus the loss of viewers could be huge after the app ban, media reported. "There are plenty of other games to fill the void for PUBG and IGL," Yash Pariani, CEO of IGL, was quoted by Business Today as saying. In India alone, PUBG has more than 175 million installations, or 24 percent of the global total, according to a report by Sensor Tower. But a game development engineer based in Seattle said that it takes time to build the game architecture, and to debug after test run, which means that newly developed Indian games cannot be on the market immediately. "Since existing Indian games failed to stand out when Chinese games were still in the market, it shows that the games are not competitive. Even without Chinese games, Indian games will not fill up China's vacant market share, which will possibly be carved up by competitive games from other countries, such as those from South Korea and Japan," the engineer told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that India's confirmed COVID-19 cases surpassed Brazil on Monday. This makes India the world's second worst hit country behind the US. However, many experts say India is not testing enough people and not properly recording many deaths, meaning the real numbers may be much higher, according to an AFP report. The US and India, the two largest democracies in the world, rank first and second in terms of confirmed COVID-19 cases, and they are also forerunners in terms of the impact of COVID-19 to their economies. India's rapidly worsening pandemic situation is now showing signs it will surpass the US. This might be a great relief for US President Donald Trump—who has been attacked due to the US' embarrassing COVID-19 fight. Now Trump has one more reason to call Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "true friend." India's medical treatment facilities cannot be compared with that of the US. But even with low levels of medical care, India lifted its lockdown as early as June. This triggered a huge novel coronavirus wave. Indian people have paid a heavy price for New Delhi's neglect of duty. Fighting COVID-19 and saving people's lives should have been India's top priority. But instead, New Delhi has been provoking its neighboring countries during this period, especially at the China-India border. New Delhi has unilaterally changed the status quo on the border and tried to nibble away at Chinese soil. On Monday, the same day when India became the second worst hit country, the Indian army outrageously fired warning shots on Chinese border patrol soldiers who came to negotiate. This is a serious military provocation. New Delhi is now obsessed with extreme nationalism and provoking China. By lifting the national lockdown and letting the coronavirus spread, New Delhi is not only giving up on its people, but it is also disrespecting other countries' achievements in the fight against COVID-19. This is seriously irresponsible for a state aspiring to be a world power. By provoking matters on the China-India border, New Delhi may want to divert people's attention away from domestic problems. This is a scam being pulled on the Indian people, which will only cause India heavy losses both at home and abroad. India is increasingly dancing to the tune of Washington. It is even blindly following the US' steps in terms of the COVID-19 fight. New Delhi is only hurting itself and it has reaping the bitter fruits that it itself sowed. India is making serious mistakes in the virus fight, and it must work to correct them. The worsening epidemic situation, compounded by economic recession and an unstable border situation, could lead to political catastrophe for New Delhi.

N.B. This Editorial was carried by the on-line versions of the Chinese Huan Qiu Shi Bao (HQSB) and English Global Times on September 5th, and in the print edition of HQSB on September 7th (there being no issue of the newspaper on the 6th (Sunday).  Differences between the Chinese and English versions, aimed at audiences at home and abroad respectively, are highlighted in the usual format:

• strike throughs for words/phrases/sentences in the English version not carried in the Chinese one,
• italics font for those in the Chinese version not carried by the English one,
• important/notable parts are shown in bold font, to draw the attention of the busy reader at a quick glance.

    Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Moscow on Friday. This was the highest-level military meeting between the two countries since tensions flared along the border in recent months. The two armies are currently confronting each other on the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake and Reqin mountain pass. The situation on the ground is quite tense.  This meeting took place during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Defense Ministers' Meeting. The fact that the two Defense Ministers are sitting face-to-face is in itself a positive signal and provides the necessary atmosphere for the two countries to manage their border disputes and cool down the situation on the ground. According to the schedule,, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will also have an opportunity to meet on September 10. The meeting between Wei and Singh laid an important foundation for the meeting between the two Foreign Ministers. The complex border issue between China and India cannot be resolved in one meeting, but if this round of border friction is cooled down and border differences brought back to a state of strict control, the role of the two Defense Ministers will be have been crucial. China and India are both big powers that have the capacity to mobilize national forces to support a military conflict in the border areas, but at this moment both sides need to calm down and clarify two major issues. First, China and India have not yet demarcated their borders and the Line of Actual Control (LAC) shouldn't be subject to constant change and different interpretations. The LAC of November 7, 1959 should be the base (benchmark) for both sides. If both sides want to create a new LAC on their own, and the will of the two major powers were to collide, the result would be disastrous. If both countries use their national power to support this collision indefinitely, it will lead to war, and the scale of the war may not be controlled near the LAC, resulting in a tragic loss of both countries' power, including the lives of their soldiers. And given the size of both countries' national power and the current international climate, it is almost impossible to change the status quo on their borders to a large degree. In the end, the two countries will have to return to the general state of the existing LAC. So what are the two sides fighting for? Territory is important, but only if China or India "beats" the other (these are two nuclear states), otherwise the status quo will be maintained. It is surely better for both countries and their people to maintain the status quo by peaceful means than to return to it after a brutal fight. Second, both China and India are emerging economies committed to economic and social development and have their own arduous tasks at home. Whether the two countries are partners or enemies has a completely different impact on their respective development ambitions. Although the boundary issue is difficult, it should not be the theme of China-India relations. It should be the common wisdom of the two major countries. The China-India boundary issue, which had been dormant for decades, has become "an active volcano" again in recent years, and it should not be. Before delimiting the border, it should be a common goal for both countries to manage the border issue by letting the disputes become "dormant" between the two sides again. The problem now is that India has drawn an aggressive line on the border issue, misinterpreting China's desire to maintain peace and stability on the border as a weakness that can be exploited by threatening to wage a border war "at any cost." Some in New Delhi also believe that the US' suppression of China and support for India has increased India's strategic strength and provided it with additional capital for risky adventure along the China-India border. This miscalculation has led it to a series arrogant and reckless moves on the China-India border issue. We must remind the Indian side that China's national strength, including its military strength, is much stronger than India's. Although China and India are both great powers, when it comes to the ultimate competition of combat capability, the Indian side will lose. If a border war starts, India will have no chance of winning. The Indian media, with the help of the military, hypes up the profile of the Indian army and its occupation of the so-called "strategic heights" in the Pangong Lake area. It is nothing but self-deception. These colorful claims simply cannot stand the test of a real war. We hope that the defense ministers' meeting will be a turning point for the two countries to come back to the consensus of the leaders' meeting. Each side will make its due effort to reduce tensions on the border. Indian public opinion is too deeply and widely involved in border issues. The Indian troop Army has been obviously kidnapped by domestic nationalism. Their performance in the border areas, it cannot but be said, is affected by the frequent interaction between the media and the military. Therefore, in addition to the joint control of the border dispute between China and India, India should also manage public opinion and nationalism, and make the best choice for its country and its people. . It is hoped that rationality will always be the real highland, with a view of the small mountains, in handling the Sino-Indian boundary issue.

Relations between the US and India have been warming in recent years with efforts to forge a so-called alliance of democracies. However, both Washington and New Delhi have performed badly in battling COVID-19. This highlights the shortcomings of their governance capacities. To shift away pressure at home, both the US and Indian leaders are pandering to rising populism and promoting a more conservative and jingoistic foreign policy. But in the long run, populism will lead to the uncertainty of US-India relations. It will also make international cooperation more difficult.US President Donald Trump's rise to power is seen as a triumph of populism. He enjoys polarizing identity, racial and partisan politics. In India, too, the Modi government has been shifting from nationalism to populism especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reelection. Put plainly, the US and India are becoming increasingly close as they are both blaming China to shirk their own domestic responsibilities. The US keeps drawing India into its Indo-Pacific Strategy, trying to form a joint force to pressure China. As for the Trump administration, it is struggling to cope with the twin challenges of the epidemic control and economic recession. To increase the pressure on China, the Trump administration has adopted a foreign policy that asks other nations to bash Beijing. For example, Washington has repeatedly forced its allies - especially the members of the Five Eyes alliance - to follow up on issues such as Huawei, Hong Kong and the South China Sea. Washington now has high expectations that with New Delhi at its side, they can inflict heavy losses on China. India, driven by populism, has increasingly been pursuing great-power status and sees China as an important strategic rival. This year, it even took advantage of the time when China was busy containing the virus to escalate China-India border conflict, in which New Delhi has paid price of soldiers' lives. After that, there has been a great clamor of boycotting China in India. This petulant boycotting of a large number of Chinese apps and products has already affected normal economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. The so-called US-India democratic alliance lacks a solid foundation of common interests. First, the economic and trade cooperation between the US and India is limited and not complementary. Although the US is trying to nurture Indian manufacturing to offset China's, the attempt is clearly impossible to be fruitful in the short term. In addition, the Trump administration is not generous with India in terms of economic and trade policies based on "America First" doctrine. For example, during Trump's visit to India in February 2020, it was believed that Washington and New Delhi might reach a limited trade agreement. That is to say, India would make trade concessions in exchange for the US to restore or partially restore its designation as a beneficiary under the Generalized System of Preferences. However, no trade agreement was reached. Second, the Washington and New Delhi appear to have obvious strategic divergences. India has its own pursuit of becoming a great power and has limited strategic trust in the US. New Delhi is relying on Washington to gain a favorable position in the game of great powers, while the US is using the South Asian giant as a lever to balance China and Russia. Third, the fanatical populism in both countries will make their strategies more conservative and domestically oriented. Relatively, the more populist a country is, the less inclusive it is. This makes it harder to carry out international cooperation. In short, affected by populism, the so-called alliance of democracies the US and India are trying to forge is unlikely to last. The egoistic nature of populism contrasts sharply with the inclusiveness of a democratic alliance. Roaring populist movements in the US and India demonstrates the dilemmas facing globalization and international cooperation. It is an expedient move for the two largest democracies to take more advantage of each other. Allowing populism to prevail at home while engaging in beggar-thy-neighbor policies is clearly not in tune with the style of great powers. The author is secretary-general of the International Security Study Center at China Foreign Affairs University.

  It is odd that many Asian countries rely on China for the economy yet lean to the US for security. This old yarn has been whispered for decades. The strong US presence in the region has brought great uncertainties. Because of this, there have been discussions about whether or not a new security structure should be created by regional stakeholders.China's economic strength and influence as well as the US' military might and prowess both far exceed that of other countries. At present, the two are engaged in a strategic competition given their comparable overall muscle and influence. Under such circumstances, other Asian countries cannot counterbalance either of the two single-handedly. Nor can they bear the consequences of going with either in a game of pick and choose.The best option for those countries is to strike a balance between the two. Countries that do this will maximize their interests. In this competing calculus, though, the regional countries' such move could intensify tension between China and the US and thus further complicate regional stability. The US-led Asian security pattern is currently comprised of the five US-centered alliances and the security partnerships the US has with several countries. However, this is limited. Not all Asia-Pacific countries are part of this coalition. Therefore, such a security pattern is not the collective security of Asia in essence. It is only a small group collective security pattern which aims to maintain US national interests. Due to the narrowness and selfishness of such a security pattern, it is bound to set off clash of interests between the US and its allies on the one hand and other countries on the other. This will then trigger security dilemmas within the region. It could even lead to military clashes. As the sole world superpower, the US has military strength and global prowess that is incomparable to any other country. Under such circumstances, some Asian countries willingly enhance their security cooperation with the US. But not all countries hope to rely on the US for security. Sometimes, the US forcefully steps into the security affairs of Asian countries. While many Asian countries lack the ability to single-handedly solve regional security affairs, this does not mean Asian countries cannot construct their own security systems. They can make their own mechanisms that aim to promote security dialogue and cooperation. They can cope with their own emergencies and conflicts. The US-led Asian security framework not only excludes China - it even views China as the principal strategic rival. This inevitably poses a huge challenge to Asian security. China is the most powerful country in Asia and the world's second largest economy. China's participation in any kind of Asian security mechanisms is indispensable. The US-led Asian security pattern will not boost regional peace and stability. Although it is an outsider, Washington cannot be completely excluded from the architecture of regional security. However, US influence in Asia actually hinders regional countries from establishing their own self-reliant security systems. Therefore, an effective Asian security pattern should cover all Asian countries. A possible scenario for this will be to establish an Asian Union on the basis of regional integration. This will allow regional countries to manage their own houses. During this process, China should play its role as the major regional power and push forward cooperation among regional countries. China can offer help because, unlike the US, it is not asserting absolute authority as its aim. China can work with its neighbors for regional security. China also has the ability to increase its strength and regional influence, and support ties with neighboring countries to create a better balance. Thus, it is helpful for regional countries to avoid being thrown off kilter with the competition between the US and China. The author is an associate research fellow with the National Institute of International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 

Since Friday afternoon, fake news reports have been circulating which claim that Taiwan shot down a Su-35 fighter jet of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Facing this false claim, Taiwan's "Defense Ministry" hurriedly issued a statement refuting the claims. The report was first published by Indian media outlet called "News Line IFE" on Twitter. Then some other Indian media, including ABP News and Times Now, quickly joined in to spread fake news. News Line IFE deleted the tweet after it was pointed out to be fake, but it has not made any further clarification as of press time. The Indian media made groundless speculations and published fake news based on a video circulating on social media, which has caused a negative impact and even risked triggering misjudgments on the situation across the Taiwan Straits. The incident has fully reflected Indian media's rumormongering tendency and their wish for a tumultuous cross-Straits situation. Some Indian media and reporters have repeatedly spread malicious rumors targeting China. In February, an Indian reporter claimed that people in Wuhan were shouting for help after being locked in their homes. But in the video he posted on Twitter, Wuhan people were actually chanting slogans to encourage each other. Indian media also fabricated information about PLA casualties after the China-India border clash in June. Such ridiculous, unprofessional reports aim at smearing China, regardless of facts and logic and bringing shame to Indian media themselves. Against the backdrop of the China-India border clash, Indian media may want more than ever to stir trouble against China. Thus, they spread rumors to drive a wedge between the mainland and Taiwan, hoping to entangle cross-Straits situation in a mess. However, Taiwan's "Defense Ministry" strongly condemned "this malicious act" in both the Chinese and English statements. The Taiwan military is well aware of the consequences of misjudgment which could easily be caused by untrue information. The situation across the Taiwan Straits is highly tense, and there is a high possibility of unwanted military conflicts being sparked in the region. The Taiwan authorities urgently refuted the Indian media's rumors, which shows that the island cannot bear the consequences of such provocation. Democratic Progressive Party authorities must be vigilant against this. Both China and India are populous countries. Facing the different situation of China and India's COVID-19 fight, and the two countries' gap in economic, technological and other achievements, India has a mixed and complicated mentality. However, the unrestricted smearing and spreading rumors against China will only damage the credibility of the Indian media. Media outlets of a major country should have a vision of the big picture. But some Indian media obviously do not have it. They serve nothing but their narrow economic or political interests. To catch people's eyes, they have ignored social interests and basic professional standards. Indian media have played a significant role in the deterioration of China-India relations, as well as New Delhi's worsening relations with other neighbors. Indian media must be reined in if the country truly wants to improve relations with its neighboring countries.

After China's second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, embarked on a training voyage in the Bohai Sea last week, the country's first carrier, the Liaoning, was spotted leaving its base and sailing in the Yellow Sea during the weekend. This was the first time known to the general public that China had two active aircraft carriers out at sea for apparent simultaneous exercises. With the Shandong gradually gaining combat capability and the two carriers training together, China will eventually be capable of deploying a dual carrier combat group, a tactic useful in high-intensity warfare — including possible reunification-by-force operations on the island of Taiwan and resistance against US provocations in the South China Sea, analysts predicted on Sunday. Citing foreign commercial satellite images, Beijing-based Modern Ships magazine reported on Saturday that the Liaoning recently set out from its base in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province for exercises. The Liaoning was in the Yellow Sea not far from its base as of Saturday, according to foreign commercial satellite services openly accessible to the general public. Photos taken by local residents and circulated on social media also showed the Liaoning had recently embarked on a voyage. The ship's movement came shortly after the country's other carrier — the Shandong — set out from a shipyard on Tuesday for military exercises in the Bohai Sea, Hong Kong-based news website wenweipo.com reported at that time. The Shandong's presence in the Bohai Sea was also confirmed by satellite images on Thursday. This was apparently the first time China's two aircraft carriers have been on training missions simultaneously since the country's second carrier Shandong entered service in December 2019, the Modern Ships report said. China has not yet officially confirmed the two carriers' operations, not to mention details on their missions The wenweipo.com report predicted the Shandong would likely conduct integrated training with fighter jets, and observers speculated that the Liaoning could be just conducting routine training missions, since it is not far away from its port. The report by Modern Ships magazine said whether the two carriers for the first time form a combat group for exercises, conduct back-to-back confrontational exercises, or hold long-range coordination exercises as two independent combat groups, the latest move will open a new chapter for the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy to deploy carriers. A Chinese military expert told the Global Times on Sunday on condition of anonymity that since China has launched its second carrier, it is only a matter of time before the PLA Navy gains the capability to simultaneously operate two carriers in multiple approaches, including a dual carrier combat group. Compared with two separate carrier combat groups, a dual carrier combat group offers a significant boost in efficiency and capability, particularly in the deployment of fighter jets, the expert said. Even if these simultaneous exercises do not see the two carriers interact with each other this time, it will be another significant step toward a true dual carrier era for the PLA Navy, the expert said. Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie told the Global Times that China's two carriers will become key forces at a time when China has been facing military pressure from countries like the US in the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea, and potentially from India on China's key maritime transport lanes. Two aircraft carriers can squeeze the island of Taiwan from different angles, and together with the DF-21D and DF-26 anti-ship ballistic missiles of the PLA Rocket Force, they can lock down the island and deny possible US intervention, Li said. They can also play a role in protecting crucial maritime transport lanes like the Strait of Malacca.

The Chinese side expressed serious concern and firm objection to India's latest decision to ban 118 more Chinese apps, Gao Feng, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, said at a press briefing on Thursday. India's ministry of information and technology announced that it would ban a total of 118 Chinese apps, claiming that the apps were "prejudicial" to the country's sovereignty, integrity and defense, the Hindustan Times reported. New Delhi has already banned 59 Chinese apps including the popular TikTok and WeChat. India has abused "national security" by imposing discriminate restrictions on Chinese companies and India's action violates relevant WTO rules, Gao said. He said that the Chinese government has always asked Chinese companies to comply with international rules and local laws and regulations in their operations overseas. "India's action not only harms the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese investors and services providers but also harms the interests of Indian consumers while doing damage to India's investment climate as an open economy," the Chinese Embassy in India stressed on Thursday. China urged India government to immediately correct its mistakes. "China-India economic and trade cooperation yields mutual benefits," Gao said. "We hope that the Indian side will work with the Chinese side to maintain hard-won bilateral cooperation and development so as to build an open and fair business environment for international investors and services providers including Chinese companies," he said.

A little girl dances with music at the grand bazaar in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

Recently, German anti-China scholar Adrian Zenz published a so-called "research report" titled "Sterilizations, IUDs and Mandatory Birth Control: The Chinese Communist Party's Campaign to suppress Uyghur's Birthrates in Xinjiang", citing biased data and ill-intended cases claiming that "Xinjiang's natural population growth has declined dramatically" and "Xinjiang has forceful sterilization problems". His findings are not derived from academic research methodologies and run against the realities in Xinjiang. The truth is Xinjiang's Uygur population has been increasing. During the law-based implementation of the family planning policy, all rights of ethnic minorities including those of Uygurs have been protected. Ⅰ.Xinjiang's population has continued to grow in recent years. Among them, the increase and birth rate of Uygur population have been higher than Xinjiang's average level. The so-called "genocide" has no basis whatsoever. The data from 2010 to 2018 shows Xinjiang's total population, ethnic minorities population, Uygur population increased steadily, whereas Han population registered just a meager increase. During the same period, Xinjiang's permanent residents increased by 3.0518 million (13.99%) to 24.8676 million from 21.8158 million. Among that, ethnic minorities population increased by 2.8749 million (22.14%) to 15.8608 million from 12.9859 million; Uygur population was up 2.5469 million (25.04%) to 12.7184 million from 10.1715 million; Han population rose by 0.1769 million (2%) to 9.0068 million from 8.8299 million. Uygur's population growth rate was not only higher than Xinjiang's population growth rate, but also higher than that of ethnic minorities and a lot more higher than Han's. From 2010 to 2018, the birth rate and natural growth rate of Xinjiang's population were stable with a slight decline. During this period birth rates for Xinjiang's permanent residents were 14.85‰、14.99‰、15.32‰、 15.84‰、16.44‰、15.60‰、15.34‰、15.88‰、10.69‰ respectively; natural growth rates were 10.71‰、 10.57‰、10.84‰、10.92‰、11.47‰、11.06‰、11.08‰、11.40‰、6.13‰ respectively. Before 2017, Xinjiang's population birth rate was around 15‰, natural growth rate around 11‰. Although there was a decline in Xinjiang's population birth rate and natural growth rate in 2018, compared to the national level, its birth rate(10.69‰)was almost the same with that of the national level (10.94‰), and natural growth rate (6.13‰) was higher than national level(3.81‰). Among them, Uygur's birth rate (11.9‰) was higher than Xinjiang's overall population birth rate (10.69‰), and higher than Han's birth rate (9.42‰). Growth and birth rate for Xinjiang's Uygur population was higher than that of Xinjiang's overall and Han population, therefore the so-called "racial cleansing" is simply nonsense. Ⅱ.The decline of Xinjiang's population growth in 2018 is the result of full implementation of the family planning policy, which also reflects Xinjiang's economic and social development and the changing attitude towards childbearing among all ethnic groups. Before 2017, the family planning policy was not implemented adequately in the region's southern prefectures such as Kashgar and Hotan, which resulted in more newborns than the policy allowed. In recent years, during Xinjiang's poverty alleviation campaign, home visit and information soliciting have identified and registered a large number of children born out of the policy, accounting for 20% of the newborns registered in that year, echoing the estimations of health and statistics authorities. Xinjiang's birth rate and natural growth rate were down to 10.69‰ and 6.13‰ in 2018 from 15.88‰ and 11.40‰ in 2017 respectively. The number of newborns in 2018 was 120,000 fewer than that of 2017. According to the estimates of health and statistics authorities, around 80,000 fewer people were born, thanks to the measures taken to address out-of-policy births. Meanwhile, as poverty alleviation campaign advances, living and production conditions have improved significantly in southern Xinjiang; urbanization has accelerated and more people live in urban areas; people's education and cultural level has also improved a lot, and their attitude towards childbearing has changed, with more people favoring delayed marriage and fewer and better births. Ⅲ.Family planning is a basic state policy of China. The implementation of family planning in Xinjiang has promoted the long-term, balanced development of its population. The current population growth patterns conform to the objective law of economic and social development. The implementation of family planning in Xinjiang along the whole country is not only the implementation of the basic national policy, but also the objective need to realize the coordinated and sustainable development of population, economic, social and environmental resources. Xinjiang is an arid region with severe desertification problems. An average of 48,300 m3 water is produced per square kilometer in Xinjiang, which is only 16.7% of national level (29000 m3/ km2). Our of the region's 1.6649 million km2 territory, oasis accounts for only 0.1711 million km2. In southern part of Xinjiang, due to rapid increase of population, farming land has become a scarce resource. In 2018, per capita farming land in the four southern prefectures was 2.32 mu (1,547m²), which is only 67.78% of world's average (3.42 mu equals 2,280m²). For some time in the past, being disrupted by "three evil forces", family planning policy couldn't be fully implemented in the southern prefectures like Kashgar and Hotan; plus, many were born outside of state policy and marriage, which led to a rapid population rise in Xinjiang, causing inappropriate allocation of limited natural resources and huge burden to households. In order to resolve the problems of water, farming land allocation, let people of Xinjiang lead a better life, Xinjiang need to implement family planning policy to foster a long-term and balanced development of population, and to promote sound development of society and economy. After implementing the family planning policy in Xinjiang, the pressure due to rapid rise of population was alleviated, and health conditions of people from various ethnic groups, particularly women and children, have improved. Xinjiang's maternal mortality rate was down from 43.41per 100,000 in 2010 to 26.65 per 100,000 in 2018; infant mortality declined from 26.58‰ to 14.02‰. Xinjiang's average life expectancy was 74.82 years in 2015. The trend of world population development shows that the higher the level of economic and social development, the stronger people's concept of self-worth and eugenics, and the Fertility Rate and the natural growth rate of population will decline. With the continuous development of Xinjiang's economy and society, the living conditions of people of all ethnic groups such as travel, residence, education, medical treatment and employment have undergone fundamental changes, which has promoted the steady improvement of population quality. The birth rate, death rate and natural population growth rate in Xinjiang have dropped from 22.55‰, 7.69‰ and 14.86‰ in 1978 to 10.69‰, 4.56‰ and 6.13‰ in 2018, respectively. Xinjiang's population development has entered a modern population growth type featuring "low birth, low death and low growth." Ⅳ.Xinjiang implements the family planning policy according to law, and people independently choose safe, effective and appropriate birth control measures. There has been no such a problem of "mandatory sterilization" in the region. China's family planning policy was rolled out from eastern and central regions to border areas, from urban areas to villages, form Han to ethnic minorities, giving ethnic minorities differentiated yet loose policies as opposed to that on Han couples. As a part of China, Xinjiang abides by the family planning policy according to law. China hasn't formulated and implemented no family planning policies for a single ethnic group. From 1975, the family planning policy was implemented first in predominantly Han-populated cities like Urumqi. "Provisional Regulations on Several Issues of the Family Planning Policy" was published in 1981, starting the policy on Han ethnic group. "Measures for the Implementation of Family Planning of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region" was published in 1992, giving ethnic minorities more loose policies than Han, according to which urban Han couples could have one child and rural Han couples could have two; urban ethnic minorities can have two children and in those in rural areas can have three. In 2017, Xinjiang revised its population and family planning regulations, granting the same policy to all ethnic groups: urban couples can have two children, rural couples can have three. As can be seen, the family planning policy was implemented towards ethnic minorities 17 years later than Hans, and still with more easiness compared to China's other provinces. In recent years, Xinjiang has taken measures in accordance with law to implement family planning policy by promoting management, scaling up policy publicity and advocacy, and providing quality service and so on, which led to remarkable results. People make independent choices on safe, effective, and proper contraception practices. Women of childbearing age voluntarily take tubal ligation and IUDs, especially most of those who have completed their childbearing but not taken birth control measures since 2014. Some areas like Hotan Prefecture have applied the principal that combines voluntary participation with technical guidance, encouraging people to choose long effective contraceptives that are suitable for themselves. For a period of time, there was a spike in tubal ligation and IUDs cases out of people's voluntary choice. Practice has proven that, among all kinds of contraceptives, tubal ligation and IUDs are internationally recognized safe enduring ways with few side effects but high effectiveness. And such contraceptives have been widely used in other areas in China and are also accepted willingly by childbearing women in Xinjiang.

"Indo-Pacific" is a not a simple political term, nor is it value-neutral, as an SWP research paper published in July pointed out. Invented by the Trump administration, this term implies one of the geopolitical focal points of the intensifying US-China strategic rivalry. Within this context, Germany's latest policy guidelines reveal its recognition of the US strategic orientation toward the Asia-Pacific region, and even herald a US-Germany convergence in the future of their attitudes and overall policy lines in handling issues in this region. On the other hand, there is some widening divergence between these two countries that may complicate or jeopardize their possible coordination in this region. The Trump administration advocates and promotes unilateralism, nationalism, and state mercantilism, driving a wedge between the transatlantic relations. The US-Europe trade war ignited by Trump is still going forward and the goodwill of the European Union has been largely ignored. What is even worse is Trump's unilateral decision to withdraw from the Iranian Nuclear Agreement and to re-impose sanctions on Iran. The US does not heed the security demands of Europe and Germany on many occasions. Faced with a unilateralist US and an unpredictable Trump administration, Europe and Germany have to act in a more cautious way. They deliberately avoid taking sides with the US on some issues that may harm Europe's relations with other big powers. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made it clear several times that Europe must act independently of the US when necessary. It is somewhat visible from the words and deeds of German policymakers and think tankers that they may double-hedge between China and the US. Honestly, it is not easy to locate actual European influence on strategic security in the Indo-Pacific region. For a very long time, Europe has focused on promoting its "soft" influence as a "normative and civilian power," and has been glad to leave their defense to the care of the US and NATO, with little effort to develop a sizeable military force of its own. A lack of hard power and an over-confidence of the influence of the European "soft power" has to some degree crippled Europe's capacity to project substantial influence to the faraway coasts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Europe as a whole has been largely ignored in the strategic and political games of the Asia-Pacific region, and is not regarded as a stakeholder within this region by the strategists and policymakers in East Asia for a long time. Whether in military tensions in the South China Sea or in the territorial disputes of the East China Sea, East Asian countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea are more concerned with the orientations of the US, but do not take Europe seriously. Europe and Germany do have an ambition to occupy an outstanding position in the regional affairs of the Indo-Pacific maritime areas, but it is likely that their ambition may not be sufficiently supported by actual deeds. Due to the lack of both hard power and a will to intervene forcefully in the Indo-Pacific region, Germany may only offer symbolic support to the US. It may be safe to point out that, when Germany talks of this region, what is in its mind is business than strategic security. Germany hopes to obtain more economic benefits under the security umbrella of the US. Its involvement in the Indo-Pacific region is more out of consideration for diversity and expanding its investment and trade. As European businesses and politicians talk of the necessity to diminish Europe's "value chain dependency" on China, and discussions have been conducted in the European Union and its member states, it is likely that Germany may hope to see some of its investments and businesses moved from China to India, or some Southeast Asian country. Changes are emerging on the horizon, and China-Europe relations may never be the same. The author is executive deputy director of the Center for European Union Studies, Shanghai International Studies University. 

Right after Indian troops once again illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control, New Delhi on Wednesday imposed a new ban on a swath of Chinese apps, showing reckless intention to further decouple with China economically. The move is a double-edged sword which will cause losses to both China and India, while offering a perfect opportunity for the US to take over the market. Another 118 Chinese apps were banned by Indian authorities under the disguise of "national security threat", including Baidu, AliPay, WeChat Work and popular mobile game PUBG, bringing total number of banned Chinese apps in India to 224, after 59 were banned in June and 47 in July. With years of investment, Chinese mobile applications had enjoyed great popularity in the Indian market. For instance, Chinese video platform TikTok had been downloaded more than 2 billion times globally in which Indians had downloaded the app 611 million times, per data from an industry analysis platform Sensor Tower in April. Among the latest ban list, the mobile game PUBG had nearly 33 million active players in India, making it one of the most popular apps downloaded in the country, according to local news outlet Hindustan Times. Alongside repeated moves to undermine the peace and stability on the China-India border area in the recent months, India has been recklessly taking measures to confront China in economic areas, such as banning Chinese apps, prolonging clearance procedure of containers shipped from China, and restricting foreign companies from participating in public procurement bids which has been regarded as targeting Chinese firms. Blocking Chinese apps has been one of its major moves that have drawn huge attention. Earlier reports said that India has drawn up a list of 275 Chinese apps that it will examine for any violation of national security and user privacy. Actual reasons lurking behind the highly symbolic move are New Delhi's intention to antagonize China and cause losses to Chinese investors. It is true that related Chinese firms will bare huge losses, however, the ban is a double-edged sword for India. Although India has a relatively high potential in software development and other fields, its IT industries lack of sufficient capital support to grow independently since start-up IT firms normally need massive capital facilitation. China and the US have been two major investors in India's IT sectors. With ample accumulation of capital, technology and experience in emerging markets, Chinese investors have built advantages over American investors in India. A cooperative approach with Chinese capital is in line with the development of India's IT industries in the long run. In the wake of the comprehensive ban of Chinese apps, American capital which had lost advantage in the market will embrace the rosy opportunity to squeeze in and take over Chinese investors' market share. For instance, Alibaba's mobile payment platform Alipay has been banned, while Facebook's WhatsApp has been reportedly trialing a payment service in India. The article was compiled based on an interview with Zhao Gancheng, Director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies

China India Photo: GT

Some Indian media recently said India's "Special Frontier Force" (SFF), a force recruited mostly from exiled Tibetans, has "thwarted" the People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s actions along the China-India border area. A Tibetan member died and another was critically wounded during the SFF's illegal crossing of the Line of Actual (LAC) near the south bank of the Pangong Lake on Monday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June declared that Indian deaths in the Galwan Valley clash "will not be in vain." And now, India is letting these exiled Tibetans rush to the forefront. It seems that New Delhi may try to play the Tibet card. These exiled Tibetans only act as cannon fodder in India's attempt to nibble into China's interests on the border issue. "These exiled Tibetans' status is very low in the Indian army. They can only use the opportunity to vent their dissatisfaction against the Chinese government," Qian Feng, director of the research department of the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times in an interview on Thursday. After India once again unilaterally provoked the border issue, a video has been circulating on social media depicting Indian soldiers dancing with flags that show a separatist symbol adopted by the so-called "Tibetan government in exile." The authenticity of the video is unproven, but the Indian administration, kidnapped by soaring nationalism, may be enticed to play with fire on the Tibet question. Does India dare to openly recognize "Tibet secessionism," and deny that Tibet is an inalienable part of China? If New Delhi is bold enough to openly oppose this fact, it is clearly aware of the consequences and shooting itself in the foot. "If India openly supports 'Tibet secessionism' on border issues, does it mean that China can also support the insurgencies in Northeast India?" Qian said in the interview. India must realize that no country would allow another to wantonly violate its national sovereignty. After illegally crossing the LAC on Monday, India on Wednesday banned another 118 Chinese mobile apps. It seems New Delhi has lost its rationality. India's national strength does not allow it to start an all-out war on China, nor allows India to play the Tibet card on the border issue. India should stop immersing itself in extreme nationalism. If India openly plays the card of "Tibet secessionism" and launches an all-round confrontation with China, China has many countermeasures to make India feel the pain. After all, China is protecting its legitimate sovereign interests, which all countries would strive to protect at any cost. India has seriously overestimated itself by unilaterally provoking China and trying to change the status quo. If New Delhi wants to play the card of "Tibet secessionism," it will only make its own situation worse. Considering India's grim COVID-19 situation, the country would only be trapped in a quagmire domestically and externally. Respecting China's sovereignty and taking the initiative to withdraw its troops as soon as possible is India's only rational choice.

India's latest military provocations on the China-India border are very different to that of the Doklam stand-off in 2017, as it dispatched more troops and displayed an extremely aggressive posture with Chinese experts saying on Thursday that Indian decision-makers have seemingly underestimated China's determination to protect its sovereignty. Chinese analysts said New Delhi might believe that China is facing heavy pressure from the US and focusing on handling tensions on its eastern side, such as in the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea, so it assumes that it would be a good chance for India to push forward and force China to make a compromise. If it succeeds, this would be a remarkable achievement for New Delhi to show off to its people and distract attention from the severe domestic COVID-19 epidemic and worsening economic situation, analysts said. India's military activities have become increasingly aggressive in recent days, and border tensions see no sign of de-escalating. The Indian Army has changed its posture from border management to securing the border on the 1,597 km Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, after the People's Liberation Army (PLA) added a military deployment in the region, the Hindustan Times reported on Thursday. India also deployed additional specialized forces such as the Special Frontier Force, and the Indian media said its soldiers have occupied "key peaks on the southern bank of Pangong Lake." The Indian Army has paid special attention by deploying a combat group (a mix of armored and mechanized elements) on the Depsang Plains, according to the Hindustan Times. Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane has visited Leh, the largest town of Ladakh in India, to the west of Pangong Tso Lake, on Thursday amid the ongoing face-off, according to Indian media NDTV. Indian media also reported in August that the Indian Army also gets ready for a long winter haul in Ladakh. These high-profile activities showed that the Indian military and its government leaders are extremely sure of themselves, and even more sure than in the Doklam stand-off in 2017, and China must prepare for long-term tensions on the border, but if Indian troops invade Chinese territory and attack Chinese troops, no matter what kind of pressure China is facing to the east, India will surely pay a heavy price, said Chinese analysts. Lin Minwang, deputy director at the Center for South Asian Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times that India still wants to negotiate rather than start a war, and its aggressive military activities are serving their purpose of keeping the border situation tense and forcing China to compromise, but it seems like they don't understand why China won't accept India's claims. China and India have different claims along the LAC, and the recent provocations prove that India wants to gain more unrealistic concessions from China, Lin said, noting that through a series of negotiations after the conflict on June 15 causing casualties on both sides, Chinese and Indian soldiers have disengaged in some regions such as the Galwan River valley, but India still wants Chinese troops to retreat from more regions like Pangong Tso Lake and Reqin Mountain to accept the "LAC" drawn by the Indian side. "This is totally unfair and overcharged," and if China accepts these claims and pulls back its troops from its own territory under military pressure from India, Indian troops would keep pressing forward and its provocations and aggressive posture would be endless, so that's why China is furious this time and refuses to make any compromises, said Lin. India's aggressive actions are making the tensions difficult to de-escalate and be resolved. When Indian troops illegally crossed the LAC on Monday, the Indian army, which first moved to accuse China of carrying out "provocative military movements," said it "had pre-empted Chinese military activity" in a statement. The Indian army's statement fully proves that it was first to illegally cross the border in an act of provocation, the first to unilaterally change the status quo in the border area, and the first to violate the important consensus reached by the two sides, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Wednesday. Dangerous miscalculation As the situation of India's internal coronavirus epidemic takes a turn for the worse, and its economy is experiencing an unprecedented recession, India is expecting its aggressive behavior to draw support from the US, since it's actively engaging in the US-proposed Indo-Pacific strategy, but this could prove to be a huge mistake with Chinese retaliation possible, Chinese analysts warned. According to the Johns Hopkins University on Thursday, India has got 3,853,406 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 67,376 deaths. Data from the Indian government on Monday showed that its economy, which was among the fastest-growing economies just a couple of years ago, contracted by 23.9 percent in the April-June quarter, its steepest fall on record and the worst performance among major economies. Before the latest tensions on the border, India has launched a series of unfair and nationalist sanctions against Chinese firms and banned apps in India, and China didn't retaliate, so this could make Indian leaders believe that China will not retaliate either if they create more provocations on the border, said Lin. Chinese experts said the border issue is about sovereignty which is totally different from the economy and trade, and on economic issues, China's can regard India's nationalist measures as unnecessary and pointless due to the Indian economy being too weak to be retaliated against by China, but regarding sovereignty, China will never compromise and India's miscalculations will endanger its frontline troops. Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times that the reason why PLA troops are being restrained is that China still hopes tensions could be de-escalated and it doesn't wish to create a new conflict that would harm overall relations between the two sides, rather than being purely afraid of Indian aggression. "Chinese military forces, whether the army or air force, in the region are well-trained and their weapons have technological advantages over India's. They are fully capable of cracking down against any Indian provocation at anytime if Indian troops invade," Song noted. China normally plans for the long-term when making decisions and any provocation from other countries "will be put on record in an account book," just like the conflict of 1962, and back then, India had started its aggressive behavior from 1959. But once the international situation was suitable for China to strike back, the PLA would take action and destroy Indian troops before New Delhi realized what had happened, said a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity. In a recent survey made by the Global Times and the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, 89.1 percent of participants support military retaliation if India again launched a border conflict, and 50.4 percent of them "strongly support" self-defense and counter-attacks by force, while 38.7 percent of them only "relatively support" it.

The US plans high-level talks with "Quad" security partners from India, Australia and Japan in September and October, US President Donald Trump's national security adviser Robert O'Brien said Friday in a speech delivered at the Atlantic Council think tank. As the presidential election approaches, the US intends to accelerate the construction of the Quad security grouping. Recent months have seen frequent interactions among the Quad countries to strengthen collaboration. They are actively making preparations for establishing a broader strategic alliance. For instance, India and Australia in early June announced a comprehensive strategic partnership. This led to an agreement between New Delhi and Canberra for closer defense and maritime security cooperation, as well as access to the other's military bases to facilitate mutual defense exchanges and exercises. New Delhi and Washington will be holding their first virtual 2+2 format dialogue with both foreign and defense ministries in September, during which the two sides might finally sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement. The agreement will enable exchanges of geospatial intelligence between the two countries. The signing of these pacts will mean a military version of the Quad grouping is getting ready to take shape. As the leader of the Quad grouping, the US has in recent months held multiple bilateral and multilateral exercises with Japan and Australia in the South China Sea. Washington also carried out dual carrier operations in the South China Sea with an eye to deter China. The US has publicly rejected most of China's maritime claims in the South China Sea, and is pressing Australia to increase freedom of navigation exercises there too. When it comes to the China-India border standoff, Washington has unjustly taken India's side and groundlessly criticized China. The idea of Quad was proposed long ago. However, it has faced challenges of threat perception, strategic culture, military capabilities, and costs. Combined these led the concept to stagnate. After the Trump administration assumed power, the US put forward its Indo-Pacific Strategy in an attempt to enhance its military presence and maintain its dominant position in the Indo-Pacific region by strengthening the regional security cooperation network. Constructing the Quad is now seminal to this strategy. Amid increasing demands to vie for regional influence and concerns over China's rise and expanding influence, major countries such as the US, Japan, India and Australia have quickened their pace of cooperation. Impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, India, Japan and Australia plan to launch an initiative to build resilient supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region in order to reduce dependence on China. The four Quad countries claim their military and economic measures are aimed at maintaining balances of power and rule-based regional order. But in fact, the Quad grouping is an ideological camp similar to the one during the Cold War. It seeks to contain China. The US, as the biggest promoter, has intensified its actions to formalize the Quad grouping for at least two purposes. First, Washington aims to cater to China hawks and conservative voters by hyping up the situation in the West Pacific. The US will even trigger friction between China and any one of the Quad countries to slander China as a destroyer of regional order. For Trump administration, if some accidents happen it can gain profits from regional tensions and maximize self interests. Meanwhile, the collective action of the four Quad countries can also demonstrate US regional leadership and enhance its reputation among allies. Second, deepening cooperation among Quad countries means major arms deals will go down with potential economic benefits. The US will naturally be the biggest beneficiary of this. If Japan, Australia and India totally follow the US' lead, the US will take the opportunity to get more deeply involved in regional affairs. This will allow it to further strengthen its regional military presence and realize its pivot to the Asia-Pacific in a true sense. It's also in line with the US' strategic interests for the three countries to engage in economic decoupling from China. As Tokyo, Canberra and New Delhi have increasingly viewed their relations with China from the perspective of competition and prevention, this will certainly advance the Quad. Countries within and outside the region who seek to counterbalance, contain or and even suppress a regional power by forming an alliance seem to follow the history from the last century. But this is exactly what is happening today. However, the geopolitical competition and confrontation should not become the main theme of the Asia-Pacific. For influential regional powers, the best foreign policy for them is to pursue independence. Blindly following a super power and turning themselves into its accomplices and pawns will only jeopardize their own national interests. Before joining the US' anti-China coalition, relevant countries should seriously mull over one question: Is it a blessing or a curse for regional peace and stability? The author is an assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies. 

 The US has been promoting military development in the Asia-Pacific region for years. This entails allying with Japan, India and Australia to treat China as an imaginary enemy. The Trump administration has transformed Obama's Asia-Pacific rebalancing strategy into the current Indo-Pacific Strategy. However, the strategy proposed by US President Donald Trump has only achieved a little military success. In the economic and diplomatic fields, the Indo-Pacific Strategy still has flaws that may lead to its collapse. In 2018, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a $113 million investment plan for the region as a gift to win confidence back from Asia. However, countries in the region generally believe that the investment amount is far from enough. It is impossible to compete with China's investment level in terms of both scale and scope. That's a cold hard fact. Second, the corresponding policy promised by the US, Japan and Australia to counter the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative has not yet been implemented. In addition, the US has not attached great importance to economic cooperation with Southeast Asian countries. Combined with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local economies, the Indo-Pacific Strategy has contributed little to the economical growth of the so-called Indo-Pacific region. In terms of diplomacy, Trump is not a fan of multilateralism. We can see from his attitude toward the ASEAN Summit that he has no interest in maintaining multilateral relations with India-Pacific countries. What's more, Japan, Australia and India have their own diplomatic considerations. They do not want to completely stand on the frontline of the Indo-Pacific Strategy. There are inherent contradictions in this strategy. The US has the "America First" policy. India has its "Neighborhood First" policy. Moreover, it is unrealistic for the US to tie Japan, Australia and India to its own warship. Washington openly admits that Tokyo and Canberra are security allies in the Asia-Pacific region and that they have been cooperating with each other in military fields for a long time. And tensions between China and India seem to have added fuel to the promotion of the Indo-Pacific Strategy. However, India, as a special link in this emerging alliance, is more interested to synergize its "Eastward Action" policy and does not want to lose its autonomy. In this regard, New Delhi will not be the faithful companion for Washington. It is clear that there will be more military cooperation and exercises in the Indo-Pacific region hosted by the US, which will also target China as a challenger in a more focused manner. But these four countries are far from forming an Indo-Pacific version of a "little NATO" given its progress and effectiveness. In fact, the Indo-Pacific Strategy is a very empty one. Apart from the slogan of "openness and freedom," there is no substantial quantitative goal that can be achieved or measured. If its strategic goal is to merely forge a closer alliance between the US and regional countries, it may have some outcomes. However, it is obvious that US investment - especially that amid the pandemic - in the region cannot satisfy regional countries. With so little input, the US can hardly realize its wishful Indo-Pacific Strategy smoothly. Regardless of the result of the November election, US leaders are well aware that the future of the 21st century lies in the Asia-Pacific region. Thus, the fundamental direction of US diplomatic policies toward the region will remain unchanged. While the US is putting fewer diplomatic resources in the Middle East and Europe, US leaders will devote more energy to the Indo-Pacific region. China, seen by the US as its top challenger, will be attached more attention to by Washington. Such being the case, on the one hand, China needs to emphasize and insist on regional peace and stability in diplomatic policies. On the other hand, it should keep boosting bilateral cooperation with the so-called US allies. Though Japan, India and Australia depend heavily on the US for security affairs, they have closer economic ties with China. In particular, China and Japan are close neighbors separated by only a narrow strip of water - the two countries have been maintaining relatively stable cultural and people-to-people exchanges. To stabilize bilateral relations with these countries can be China's main policy in response to the challenges posed by the US. The author is a research fellow with the Institute of America Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations

Because of its important strategic position, the Indo-Pacific region has become a priority for the US diplomatic and security strategy. Nine of the world's 10 busiest seaports are located in the region with 60 percent of global maritime trade and energy transport going through both the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.  The region is also home to the world's largest and second-largest economies, the US and China, as well as developed powers and emerging countries including Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia. Since US President Donald Trump came to power, under the context of the strategic competition between China and the US, the Indo-Pacific region and the Indo-Pacific Strategy have been given prominence. As early as November 2017, the Trump administration clearly put forward the concept of a so-called "Free and Open Indo-Pacific."In fact, the Trump administration's Indo-Pacific strategy mainly includes three aspects: strengthening the preparation for confrontation with China; reinforcing the strategic cooperation with the allies and non-allies; and promoting networked of cooperation.In terms of preparing for confrontation, the Trump government continues to invest more military forces into the Indo-Pacific region. These military forces are under the unified management of the US Indo-Pacific Command, which is in command of over 370,000 troops, 2,000 aircraft and more than 200 warships. This accounts for some 25 percent of the existing US military strength. According to the US plan, the country will deploy another more than 100 fighter jets, 10 destroyers and a large number of medium-range missiles over the next decade. In 2020, the number and scale of US military exercises and reconnaissance operations in the South China Sea have significantly increased. This might result in a higher probability of occasional and small-scale conflicts between China and the US. In terms of reinforcing the strategic cooperation with the allies and non-allies of the Indo-Pacific region, the US is consolidating strategic and military cooperation with Japan, South Korea, Australia, Vietnam and India. It is specifically exporting advanced weapons to India and encouraging it to confront China. In addition to the sales of F-35 fighter jets to the island of Taiwan, the US is also trying to deploy medium-range missiles in Japan. South Korea has expressed interest in cooperating with the US' infrastructure initiatives in the Indo-Pacific. Indonesia is committed to promoting the ASEAN version of the Indo-Pacific strategy. Although some regional countries still keep a distance and have different views on the US' Indo-Pacific Strategic, they have begun to accept the concept. In terms of promoting the networked cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, the Trump administration is mainly trying to create a trilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanism. For a long time, India, Australia, and Japan have held different views about the specific form of the Indo-Pacific system. New Delhi and Canberra were previously not willing enter into an alliance against Beijing. Therefore, Washington has adopted more trilateral mechanisms, such as US-Japan-Australia and US-Japan-India structures as transitory forms. With the rise of anti-China sentiments in both Australia and India, these trilateral mechanisms have slightly morphed to a four-nation alliance. In 2017, the security dialogue among the US, Japan, Australia and India was restarted. It was upgraded to the foreign minister's level in September 2019. By the end of 2020, the four countries will probably hold a foreign ministers' meeting and may also carry out security talks. While the strategic construct of the Indo-Pacific region is showing an adverse trend toward China, people in the region should take this with a pinch of salt - especially China itself. Beijing should avoid overreacting and thus be unconsciously dragged into an arms race. China should stand tall. As a nuclear power, China has enough capability to safeguard its own military and national security. India, Australia, the US and Japan also have obvious differences in interests and views in the construction of the Indo-Pacific system. As long as China continues to focus on economic development, be committed to reform and opening-up, and actively participate in processes of multilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, the US containment of China will be self-defeating. The author is professor of international relations at Renmin University of China. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

The US has brought up again the idea of building an alliance, similar to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with India, Australia and Japan to form anti-China network in the Indo-Pacific region, a move that Chinese analysts said will face obstacles, as the regional countries may prefer to remain a certain level of independence to maximize benefits from strained China-US ties.

Experts warned that instead of relying on the US to pressure China or playing geopolitical games, India should focus on solving border disputes by negotiating with China. On Monday, China slammed Indian troops for crossing the Line of Actual Control (LAC) near the south bank of Pangong Lake on Monday, which severely violated the consensus reached by the two sides. The same day, during talks with former US ambassador to India Richard Rahul Verma at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said the US aims to formalize closer Indo-Pacific defense relations with India, Japan and Australia - also known as "the Quad" - into a NATO-like alliance. Chinese military analysts said that the US effort to form a NATO-like group against China is part of its Indo-Pacific strategy and an attempt to put its failing island chain strategy together. In July, the four countries conducted naval drills near China - the US and India in the Indian Ocean, and the US, Japan and Australia in the Philippine Sea, each featuring a US aircraft carrier. These kinds of drills could put pressure on China, and should not come as a surprise if the four countries conduct more, analysts said. The US could use Japan and Australia as a frontline and advance bases, which can also offer logistical support, they said, noting that the four countries could also share intelligence on Chinese military activities. Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie told the Global Times on Tuesday that the countries, particularly India, could attempt to lock the Strait of Malacca down, targeting China's oil and natural gas supplies, should a military conflict break out between China and India. China can organize escort task groups, including aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships and Type 055 destroyers on both sides of the Strait as a countermeasure. In a more aggressive possibility, the US could deploy short to intermediate range missiles to these countries, most likely in Japan and Australia, analysts said. The US announced its plan to deploy such missiles in the Asia-Pacific region after withdrawing from the INF Treaty, but no country has accepted its proposal yet. China has an advantage over the US in terms of missile technologies and numbers, and the US' regional allies will not want to become human shields and sacrificial lambs of the US, analysts said. Experts also warned India that it should not go astray further by relying on the US, as India's attempt to pressure China on border issues by enhancing ties with the US would never work. Little detail was released on how the US would work with India and the other three on "defense relations" at the forum. But China was mentioned as many as 33 times. Biegun admitted that the goal of the US is to draw the four and other countries in the region to work together against "a potential challenge from China." "The US is gaining chips in tempting India to join its anti-China alliance, but India has its own plans as it wants to remain diplomatically and strategically independent, and is also using strained China-US ties to maximize its interests," Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times. Qian noted that against the backdrop of the border disputes with China, India may get closer strategically to the US, and the defense cooperation with "the Quad" may be on sharing information, buying some weapons from the US, and enhancing coordination against China.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed that China has always been committed to maintaining stability along the China-India border and will not be the first to complicate or escalate the situation.During his visit to France Sunday (local time), Wang delivered a speech at the French Institute of International Relations and answered questions about China-India ties, saying China is ready to manage all kinds of issues through dialogue with India. "China pursues a policy of good-neighborliness and friendship. We hope to live in long-term stability and friendship with all our neighbors," said Wang, noting that China has more neighbors than any other country in the world and their long history of exchanges has always resulted in problems of one kind or another. China is ready to work with its neighbors to resolve issues left over from history through friendly consultation in the spirit of building friendship and partnership said Wang. With regard to the recent China-India border dispute, Wang said that China has always been committed to maintaining stability along the China-India border and will not be the first to complicate or escalate the situation. The boundary between China and India has not yet been demarcated, so there have been problems. China will firmly safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and "we are ready to manage all kinds of issues through dialogue with the Indian side," he added. In another development, China's Western Theatre Command said that Indian troops once again illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control near the south bank of the Pangong Lake and Reqin mountain pass on Monday, a blatant provocative move that seriously infringed on China's territorial sovereignty, and undermined peace and stability in the China-India border area. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday said Chinese border troops have always strictly observed the Line of Actual Control and have never crossed the line. The border troops of the two countries have been in communication over territory issues. Wang said leaders of the two neighboring countries have met many times and reached important consensus. Both sides agreed that bilateral cooperation outweighs differences and common interests outweigh conflicts. Differences should be properly managed and, in particular, differences should not escalate into conflicts. China is willing to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with India to help it speed up its development, said Wang. Both China and India are major developing countries, and "we should jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries on the international stage and create a broader space for the development of emerging economies," he noted. "If both China and India can develop, the 2.7 billion people in the two countries will move towards modernization together, which will be a spectacular sight that is unprecedented in the cause of human progress. I hope India can see and deal with problems from that perspective," Wang said.

Chinese FM on Monday said Chinese border troops have always strictly observed the Line of Actual Control and have never crossed the line. The border troops of the two countries have been in communication over territory issues.

China strongly opposes Indian troops' illegal crossing of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Monday, which is a severe violation of the consensus reached before at the multilevel talks between the two countries, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command said on Monday night.Such blatant provocations lead to tensions on the border, and China urges India to withdraw its troops that crossed the LAC, strictly restrain frontline forces, and effectively follow its commitments, the PLA Western Theater Command noted.Lin Minwang, deputy director of the Center for South Asian Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Monday that Indian action this time will definitely escalate tensions, as China has been forced to be tough and would take action; otherwise the Indian provocation would be endless."The negotiations held by both sides since June 15 have achieved limited progress, as the Indian stance remains tough, and even urged Chinese troops to retreat from some locations within Chinese territory, which China has refused. This time, India has increased its troops to about 40,000 in the border region, which makes the situation more intense," he said. Although India fortified its military deployment, China has also increased its troops in the border region, and both sides have to prepare for winter as well. India actually has no advantage in a potential conflict, Lin noted. Indian media again hyped fresh conflicts with China, while accusing the PLA of "provocative movements." It is speculative calculation, which is a very dangerous move without clear understanding of the border situation between the two countries, Chinese experts said. This comes shortly after the Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected claims that Chinese border troops tried to carry out fresh violations along the border. The Indian defense ministry said in its latest statement that in an incident along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between Saturday and Sunday, the PLA troops "violated the previous consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements in the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh, and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo," India Today reported on Monday, citing the official document. Quoting unnamed Indian Army sources, the report also noted that the "Chinese Army had tried to transgress into Indian areas using a sizeable number of troops. But the Indian Army pre-empted the Chinese attempt, and foiled their move." When asked about the information released by the Indian army, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, refuted the report, claiming that Chinese border troops have always strictly observed the LAC, and have never crossed the line. The border troops of the two countries have been in communication over territorial issues, he said. Some forces in India have been speculating on the border situation, trying to incite tensions with China despite several rounds of senior military-level talks on disengaging frontline troops, following the border skirmish in June, some Chinese experts said. Such a reckless intention is very dangerous miscalculation, echoing the rising confrontation between China and the US. Indian side has not fully realized the gap of military capabilities between two countries, and how severe the consequences would be if India continues instigating border conflicts, they noted. India illegally crossing the LAC reflects its hasty mindset, Qian Feng, director of the research department of the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Monday. India hopes to gain an upper hand in border talks with China through little tricks such as launching provocations. However, as long as it steps up provocations, logistical supplies at the border would become a huge pressure on India, he said. "Given the worsening coronavirus epidemic and its stalled economic growth, it would be a loss for India to continue its input in the border area, both in terms of military and supplies," he said, noting that through provocations, it attempts to exert pressure on China. Faced with a growing hostile attitude of India against China and continuous military provocations, about 70 percent of respondents to a recent survey conducted by the Global Times and China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) agree that the Chinese government should be tough in fighting back against India's provocations, and 89.1 percent support military retaliation, with 50.4 percent of them "strongly supporting" self-defense and counter-attacks. Constant provocations Since the border conflict between China and India in May, India has fortified troops and tank regiments in Ladakh, and such armored deployment is aimed at containing the PLA movement in the area, Indian media Business Standard reported on August 3. A survey of India Today-Karvy Insights Mood of the Nation (MOTN) also suggest that nearly 60 percent of respondents agree that India should go to war with China over the border conflict, India Today reported on August 7, after local media the Hindustan Times, citing a recent Harvard University assessment, claimed that India has the upper hand in military deployments along its border with China, and has closed the military gap with its neighboring country. Chinese analysts said Indian military forces have some advantages in the border regions in terms of quantity, because it has a better geographical environment. But China can immediately transport huge amounts of troops by its advanced infrastructure like high-speed railways to the border region once China decides to retaliate. And the combat capability of the PLA is much more advanced than Indian troops; so in a real war, India might get a head start, but China will soon overturn it. Chinese experts also said India's move to increase its military presence in the border regions, even crossing the LAC to incite more tensions, is unhelpful to deescalating  tensions, while China is trying to cool down the situation through patience. Since Galwan Valley skirmish in June, the PLA has held a series of intense and multidimensional drills, while the two sides have been pushing forward diplomatic and military talks to ease the situation. Last week,  two J-20s, the most advanced stealth fighter jets of the PLA Air Force, were spotted at an airport about 300 kilometers from the border region, foreign media reported, but Chinese experts suggested that foreign media not over-interpret such a deployment as China wants to deescalate the tensions. "As far as I know, the magnitude of the latest conflict was not the same as the incident on June 15. No casualties, no bloody confrontation," Qian Feng, director of the research department of the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Monday. The situation has also been eased, but as the 6th round of military talks would soon be held, such hype on rising conflicts may serve as some leverage for negotiations, he noted. Over the past two months, China and India have held several rounds of senior military-level talks, and agreed to disengage frontline troops. The Hindu reported last week that as the standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh entered its 17th week, the two sides were preparing for another round of military talks to resolve the disputes. Xie Chao, an assistant professor on Indian studies at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Monday that a sharp contrast could be interpreted from the latest statement from India and what the Chinese FM said. It also shows that India continues to hold a hostile and accusatory altitude on the border conflict, while China is mild and restrained. For a long time, India has been fortifying troops on the Indian side of the border, especially since May. However, China has not followed suit, only maintaining necessary military deployment in case of an emergency, Xie said. Given the complex history of the China-India border, the two sides have different understandings of the LAC, but have a complete set of procedures and agreements to resolve differences, Xie said, adding that "Such groundless accusations by India will not help the efforts of the two sides to cool down the tense border situation." Chinese analysts warned that India should have a clear understanding that China is much stronger militarily than India. If New Delhi continues such provocative rhetoric, or launches large-scale attacks at the border region, it would face severe consequences. Influenced by Washington The latest survey on China-India relations conducted by the Global Times and China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) showed that more than 70 percent of participants believe that India is too hostile toward China, and nearly 90 percent surveyed support a strong government retaliation. If India makes more provocations and launches new border conflicts against China, about 90 percent of respondents support China defending itself and striking back at India with force. By showing their resolve to fight with China, India is trying to pressure China to make concessions, especially amid the rising tensions between the US and China. The South Asian country intends to use the influence of Washington to check and balance Beijing in the Asia-Pacific region, experts noted. The US plans high-level talks with "Quad" security partners from India, Australia and Japan in September and October, US President Donald Trump's national security adviser said on Friday. Some Chinese experts said such talks would further stir regional tensions, when China is making efforts to solve disputes with its neighbors through negotiations. "The domestic nationalist sentiment is inciting Indian officials to make this dangerous military gesture for the sake of their own political gain, which would only make border situation more intense, and lead to a dangerous result," Xie said.

China strongly opposes the illegal crossing by Indian troops of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Monday, which is a severe violation of the consensus reached at the multilevel talks between the two countries previously, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command said on Monday night. Such blatant provocations result in increased tensions along the border, and the Chinese side urges India to withdraw its troops that crossed the line, strictly restrain its frontline forces and effectively follow its commitments, the PLA Western Theater Command noted.On Monday, Indian troops illegally crossed the LAC again at the southern bank of Pangong Tso and mountainous border areas, inciting provocations with such a move seriously intruding upon China's territorial sovereignty while undermining peace and stability along the border between China and India.The official statement was made after Indian media again hyped up fresh clashes with China, accusing the PLA of "provocative movements." By citing the Indian defense ministry on Monday, Indian media reports said the PLA troops "violated the previous consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements in the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh, and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo." When asked about the information released by the Indian military that it has taken action to stop Chinese activities in the Ladakh area, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, refuted such claims, saying that Chinese border troops have always strictly observed the LAC and have never crossed the line. The border troops of the two countries have been in communication over territorial issues, he said.

Editor's Note: India media, citing government sources, reported on Monday that India has deployed one of its frontline warships to the South China Sea soon after the Galwan Valley clash on June 15. The Indian warship was continuously maintaining contact with their American counterparts over secure communication systems. How to interpret these Indian naval moves? Is New Delhi playing a so-called South China Sea card to pressure Beijing? Global Times invited two scholars to share their views. Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert The deployment of the Indian Navy warship in the South China Sea and the Indian warship's contact with its US counterparts over "secure communication systems" could give the outside world the impression that India and the US are allies that can further strengthen cooperation in many regions such as the South China Sea and Indian Ocean. The primary goal of New Delhi is to hype up the issue and indicate it has the backing of Washington. By sending a frontline warship to the South China Sea, India may also want to distract China's attention from the border dispute with India by exerting pressure on China on the high seas. However, this will hardly affect the border situation. India is simply serving as an accomplice to the US. The US' Indo-Pacific Strategy needs the support of allies and petty followers. The US is stirring up the South China Sea situation in an attempt to strategically check China. With this, India hopes to contribute to make the waters muddier and unstable. It seeks to create disharmony in the South China Sea in order to create an advantageous situation for itself. The possibility that India will escalate adventurous actions in the South China Sea cannot be ruled out. This could entail participating in joint exercises in the South China Sea with the US. India might even send aircraft carrier to the region in the future. China must first of all express firm opposition to the Indian Navy's presence in the South China Sea. Both the US and India are extraterritorial powers. Any of their military activities in the South China Sea will jeopardize regional security and stability. Second, China must closely monitor the Indian warship, judge the actions it might take and track it. If the Indian vessel takes any actions to undermine China's maritime rights or challenge China's territorial sovereignty, China must expel it or even resort to reasonable collisions. Should the Indian warship further escalate actions, China will have to make contingency plans and deal with it effectively. India should have a clear estimation of itself. India's strength and capabilities at sea are dwarfed by those of China's. But as the US intensifies its containment on China and promotes the Indo-Pacific Strategy, India has acted like a fox assuming the majesty of the tiger. New Delhi hopes to rely on US power to exert pressure on China, and it has now actively cooperated with the US Indo-Pacific strategy in order to convince the US that it's a useful pawn that can cause trouble for China. Long Xingchun, a senior research fellow of Academy of Regional and Global Governance, Beijing Foreign Studies University, and president of Chengdu Institute of World Affairs There are voices in India suggesting it should play the South China Sea card to put pressure on China and to increase New Delhi's bargaining chips against Beijing. But deploying an Indian ship in the South China Sea would barely have any substantial influence on China. India has conveyed its hostility against China and showed loyalty to the US.  But this will have no substantial impact on the South China Sea situation, the ownership of islands and reefs in the waters, the territorial disputes, or China's security. India's main purpose is to showcase its toughness against China amid the China-India border row— especially to cater to India's nationalist sentiments. China doesn't have to worry a lot, but needs to keep vigilant and monitor the Indian warship's moves. If India sails its warship into China's 12-nautical mile territorial sea, it would lead to serious results. However, if Indian naval vessels only sail on the high seas, China only needs to keep up stiff surveillance. But if it provocatively sails within 12 nautical miles of China's South China Sea islands and reefs, I believe China will take countermeasures to safeguard its core interests, and India will not be able to bear the consequences. Since the Galwan Valley clash, India has taken provocative actions to further worsen ties with China amid mounting domestic nationalism. In addition to playing the South China Sea card, some Indian scholars and officials have even proposed that India resort to playing the Tibet card and Taiwan card. These cards in fact would bring India no benefits. On the contrary, they will only deepen mistrust between China and India, and steer bilateral relations into a worse state. The border issue should be resolved in a rational, calm and pragmatic manner based on mutual respect. Any attempt to play any card to pressure China will be in vain. New Delhi's strength is limited while Beijing has many countermeasures to strike back.

Photo:VCG

India's reported actions to decouple China in crude oil trade, which is another economic and trade conflict introduced by the South Asian country to occupy more mind space from China, and will have little effect due to the tiny size of trade, Chinese energy experts said on Friday. Indian state refiners last week decided to stop sending crude import tenders to Chinese trading firms including CNOOC Ltd, Unipec and PetroChina, Reuters reported, citing sources. The ban came after a long list of India's so-called economic crackdowns on China after a deadly border clash in June. India has curbed Chinese investment, disqualified Chinese companies bidding for Indian government procurement contracts and banned nearly 300 Chinese-developed mobile app services. However, Chinese energy trade experts said the India move is more of chest-beating, as China's share in global crude exports is tiny. Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Friday that the impact of such a ban would have no significant impact, noting China's share as a crude oil exporter in the global market is very small. "Besides, crude oil is hard currency. If India is not wanting it, there are plenty of others wanting it," Lin said, adding that the Indian decision to not source crude from Chinese exporters will have no impact on the global crude price. Jin Lei, an associate professor at China University of Petroleum, agreed. "Much cry and little wool," Jin said, noting that China is not even among India's top 15 crude oil suppliers. "But the action shows India further walks down the road heeding the example of the US to take radical measures against China," Jin told the Global Times on Friday. "It could be more of a political statement of its strong stance on China, but the Indian government apparently has picked a sector that will be least impacted." The world's third biggest oil consumer and importer, India imports about 84 percent of its oil needs. Lin said Chinese companies hold equity stakes in many oilfields but they are not the sellers. Sinopec, which owns Unipec, declined to comment when contacted by the Global Times.

Photo taken on Aug. 27, 2020 show a damaged car at a landslide site in Mandi town, Himachal Pradesh, India. (Str/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Aug. 27, 2020 show a damaged car at a landslide site in Mandi town, Himachal Pradesh, India. (Str/Xinhua)

An excavator cleans the road at a landslide site on Kullu Manali highway in Himachal Pradesh, India, Aug. 27, 2020. (Str/Xinhua)

People help a motorcycle cross a fallen tree at a landslide site in Mandi town, Himachal Pradesh, India, Aug. 27, 2020. (Str/Xinhua)

As many as 77,266 new COVID-19 cases and 1,057 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours. Still there are 742,023 active cases in the country, while 2,583,948 have been successfully cured and discharged from various hospitals, the ministry data showed. Till Thursday, a total of 39,477,848 samples had been tested, with 901,338 samples tested on Thursday alone. Over the past several weeks the country's federal government has focused on ramping up samples testing.

Indian Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said that "military options to deal with transgressions by the Chinese army in Ladakh are on" if the ongoing diplomatic and military talks with China don't yield any results, the Times of India reported on Tuesday.Analysts have closely observed India's recent military moves along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Indian Army has remarkably ramped up its deployment of troops and weaponry, including tanks and artillery, into various sensitive areas. However in fact, Indian senior military officials must be clearly aware of the gap of military capability between China and India. So they will not unilaterally launch a large-scale attack. The Indian military may expect to use such rhetoric and moves as leverage in its negotiations with China. Although the Indian military has expressed its tough position, the Indian government remains hopeful that tensions could subside. India's biggest crises lie at home with COVID-19 and economy putting considerable pressure on the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Due to India's relatively weak medical system and infrastructure, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has been rising quickly. This is eroding Indian people's faith and fostering mistrust of their government's ability to manage the country effectively. India should focus more on battling the epidemic, ensure economic growth, and stave off unemployment. India may take a tough stance to divert attention of its people. In this context of crises, it is impossible for India to engage in a military conflict or risk a war. India is emphasizing "military options" in sharp contrast to China's responsible call for communication to deal with differences. India's tough stance toward China means there are divergences between the Indian government and the army. Indian military officials try to exaggerate the risk of the China-Indian border conflict in order to exert pressure on their government to allocate more military expenditures for weapon and equipment procurement. China's attitude, on the other hand, is completely consistent and crystal clear. China does not want conflicts with India to break out. It hopes to solve problems through peaceful negotiations. At present, the door for dialogue is open and the two countries are capable of managing and controlling the crisis under mutual efforts. There is no risk of war based on the attitude of both the Chinese and Indian governments. India has been stepping up its military moves lately. It is reported that New Delhi will sign an important military logistics agreement, the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement, with Tokyo in September. New Delhi has already signed a military agreement with Canberra recently, and Australia reportedly will also be invited to participate in the Malabar naval exercises. These actions might have an intention to contain China. But India's muscular posture further hopes to attract more countries as part of its international image campaign to project power. However, it is aware of China's national strength and will not take risks to confront a nuclear power rashly. In general, India's military strategy has deviated from the right path. India now hopes to have a good relationship with the US, build a quasi military alliance, and use the influence of Washington to check and balance Beijing in the Asia-Pacific region. But this approach is actually wrong. There can only be one hegemonic power in the Indian Ocean - the US will not really want to share this space with anyone, including India. Once India's national and military strength enhances, contradictions between India and the US will eventually intensify. But India won't have such problem with China. In this respect, India should treat its relationship with China in a more objective and rational way. India has always been submissive to US' hegemonic thinking and programs. But such compliance will turn India into a US pawn. The priority of India's independent strategic choice should be properly handling relations with its neighboring countries. Military means won't help, therefore, India should resort to communication, cooperation, and maybe also common development. China and India have many common interests and they are complementary in terms of market and economic development. India should take advantage of the complementarities to improve its own competitiveness rather than bluffing. China and India should find more common ground. This is better in line with the development direction of the future Indian strategies. Therefore, by collaborating with the US' strategy and even use US' power to balance China, India will only go farther on the wrong path. The author is a Beijing-based military analyst.

According to Indian media, Russia plans to promote a "China-India-Russia" defense ministers' meeting in September to coordinate deadlocked China-India relations. As early as June, during the delayed celebration of the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, Russia stated its intent to help foster meetings between China-India defense ministers who were attending the commemoration.However, due to the high degree of hostility of India against China at that time, a meeting of defense ministers of the two countries could not be realized. But Russia's intention shows that it is worried about the confrontation between the two most populous countries, and hopes that China-India relations can get back to normal. Russia's concern about China-India relations has strong connections with "China-India-Russia" trilateral mechanism. After the end of the Cold War, the US pursued unilateralism and global hegemony, trying to shape a unipolar international system dominated by it. Today, Washington continues to compress Moscow's strategic space, absorbing Eastern European countries and the former Soviet Republics into NATO. It also pushes NATO's defense line to the frontier of Russia's border, and even hopes that Russia will continue to split and turn into a country that will not be able to threaten the US and its allies. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US lost the desire to unite with China to counter its biggest rival and began strategic containment of China. India's ambition to become a major power has increased along with the country's economic growth. China, India and Russia all hope to become an important pole in the post-Cold War multipolar world. They oppose the US' unilateral hegemony. Therefore, China-India-Russia trilateral dialogue mechanisms were founded with initiatives put forward by former Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov. Although "China-India-Russia" is only a loose dialogue mechanism over the past two decades, the three countries share consistent policies regarding most major international and global affairs. The trilateral mechanism has improved India's international status. For India in pursuit of the status as a world power, participating in this mechanism will allow it to step on the shoulders of the "giants" and be regarded as important as China and Russia. India is the only country that has established a trilateral dialogue mechanism with China and Russia among the countries other than the permanent members of the UN Security Council. This gives it the opportunity to show its posture and shape its image as a great power to the world. Meanwhile, Russia does not want to see the deterioration of China-India relations damage the trilateral mechanism. After the border conflict between China and India in June, New Delhi took a series of measures against Beijing. Politically, India has instigated anti-China sentiments from perspective of both the government and broad society. Militarily, New Delhi has deployed more troops on the China-India border. Economically, the Indian government has successively introduced measures aiming at Chinese companies and products. New Delhi has sent a signal of decoupling and confrontation with Beijing. If India truly decouples from China or has a large-scale war with China, not only will China-India relations fall into long-term hostility, but New Delhi would completely tilt toward Washington. This will terminate the trilateral mechanism and impose great impact on the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Russia is worried about India's swinging too close to the US. Russia and India have neither historical resentment nor geopolitical conflict between them. Russia has been the largest source of weapons for India, from the Soviet era to today. If India turns to the US due to its conflict with China, then Russia will lose a partner to check and balance the US as well as an important market for weapon exports. However, in fact, although India may approach the US and play the "American card" against China, it is unlikely that India will tilt toward the US with no limits. New Delhi knows that Washington is roping it in for US own interests. Although India is respected due to its diplomatic stances and principles, this reputation will vanish if it totally becomes a US pawn. At present, India has gone too far on its anti-China road, and is having serious trouble finding its way out. However, Beijing has been refraining from taking countermeasures so far. This shows the rationality of China as a great power, and reserves room for improving China-Indian relations. Russia's proposal of trilateral defense ministers' meeting is an important attempt to create opportunities for betterment of China-India ties. The author is President of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs. 

A member of the resort staff feeds fish in a swimming pool that has been turned into a fish farm at the Aveda Resort in Kumarakom, India on August 23. Photo: AFP

A luxury resort in southern India has turned its swimming pool into a fish farm to stop the business sinking amid the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Normally the 150-meter pool at the Aveda Resort in Kerala state is packed with European tourists. Now thousands of pearl spot fish are causing the splash. The complex was forced to shut in March when a nationwide coronavirus lockdown was ordered. Few hotels have been allowed to reopen since. Of those which are still shuttered, not many boast a pool with 7.5 million liters of water, which can be put to alternative use. "We have had zero revenues, so in June, we put around 16,000 2-month-old pearl spot fish in the pool," Aveda's general manager Jyotish Surendran told AFP. The fish, which takes about eight months to reach full size, is a popular ingredient in dishes in southern India and the Middle East. "We plan to harvest by November and will export to the Middle East," Surendran said, predicting about four tons of pearl spots growing in the swimming pool could be worth $40,000 on the market. The makeshift farm would not cover the losses from the pandemic, which has driven many hotels to bankruptcy, said the hotel boss. But Surendran was hopeful that the money would help cover basic bills so the business can keep running until tourists return.

Zhang Yiming, CEO of ByteDance, vowed to find resolutions to issues it faces globally, particularly in the US and India, a move which will try to fit the interests of multiple parties amid the ongoing China-US tech war. Zhang's statement came after Kevin Mayer resigned as  CEO on Thursday, three months after he joined the video sharing app. Vanessa Pappas, TikTok's current general manager, was appointed as the interim chief executive. "In recent weeks, as the political environment has sharply changed, I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for," wrote Mayer, according to a report in The New York Times. In an internal letter, Zhang said he fully respected the decision of Mayer against the backdrop of the political turmoil in the US and thanked Mayer for his efforts. "I understand that the resulting outcome that we land upon due to the political circumstances we are operating within could have significant impact on his job in any scenario, but particularly given his global role while he's based in the US," Zhang said. "I thank Kevin for his efforts towards a resolution to the issues and wish him well." Zhang also assured employees that ByteDace is "moving quickly to find resolutions to the issues it faces globally, particularly in the US and India." "I cannot get into details at this point, but I can assure you that we are developing solutions that will be in the interests of the users, software developers, partners, and employees," Zhang said. The news came just days after TikTok's decision to file a lawsuit to challenge the Trump administration's attempts to ban the video-sharing app in the US. The US has recently cracked down on Chinese social media and technology during an escalating tech war. On August 6, Trump issued an executive order banning any US transactions with ByteDance, set to take effect in 45 days. On August 14, Trump signed another executive order, requiring ByteDance to divest its interests in the US within 90 days. Global Times

 Graphic: GT The latest survey on China-India relations launched by the Global Times and China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) showed that more than 70 percent of participants believe that India is being too hostile against China and nearly 90 percent surveyed support the government in retaliating strongly against Indian provocations. If India makes more provocations in the future and launches new border conflicts against China, about 90 percent of participants support China in defending itself and striking back at India with force, but some participants (26.4 percent) also see India as a neighbor and have a "favorable impression" of them, putting the country the fourth on the list of the "most favorable neighbors," following Russia (48.8 percent), Pakistan (35.1 percent) and Japan (26.6 percent). The survey by the Global Times Research Center and Institute of South Asian Studies of the CICIR was conducted among 1,960 participants in China from August 17-20, executed by DATA 100, a market survey company, and covered 10 major cities across all regions of the country - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Shenyang, Wuhan, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Qingdao and Kunming. Positive or negative? Just over 56 percent of participants said they have a "clear understanding of India" and 16.3 percent of them said they are "very familiar" with the country, which slightly surprised some experts. Hu Shisheng, director of the Institute of South Asian Studies at the CICIR, told the Global Times that the reason why more than half of the participants are confident in their understanding of India is probably people-to-people exchanges and Indian cultural products. Lin Minwang, deputy director at the Center for South Asian Studies of Fudan University, told the Global Times that the participants' strong confidence in their knowledge of India is very far from the reality. In fact, most people of our country know about the US, Japan and Europe much more than India, and most Indian people also know the West better than China, because culturally, the two countries are very different and the exchanges and communications between the two sides are much less than those they have with the West, so most people from either side are unable to see the whole picture of the other, Lin said. Another result of this survey to some extent reflects this fact. When asked to choose their top impressions of India, 31.4 percent of participants selected "the low social status of women," which topped the list, with the second being that India has the world's second largest population (28 percent). Lin said this is caused by shocking news of the dire situation facing Indian women, such as horrific rape cases that are widely and frequently reported by international media. But this reflected the fact that the Chinese public has limited understanding of a complicated India. However, on the list of China's most favorable neighbors, India ranked even higher than South Korea (25.5 percent) a country with a huge pop cultural influence over Chinese youth. This also showed that Chinese people can rationally separate the Indian government, which is provoking China, from the innocent Indian culture and people. Although China and India occasionally have border tensions and disagreements on some issues like the Belt and Road Initiative and Pakistan, some Bollywood movies that China has imported from India, such as Dangal and Andhadhun, have been very popular in recent years among Chinese movie fans, and many Chinese people practice yoga in their daily lives. The survey showed that 22.3 percent of participants picked "Indian yoga" as their top three impressions of the country. Optimism and rationalism The survey also showed that 25 percent of the participants are optimistic about bilateral relations as they believe "China-India ties will be improved in the long term" even as 70.8 percent of them recognized that currently, Indians are being too hostile against China. This result somewhat surprised Chinese experts. Hu said China-India relations will see lots of ups and downs, and although India is unlikely to start an all-out confrontation against China, it will make trouble occasionally in the China-India border regions. "The optimistic attitude of some Chinese people toward China-India relations is probably based on the confidence in China's comprehensive national strength, which is much greater than India's. Normally, the stronger side would have a more confident and optimistic attitude to its relations with other countries," Hu noted. Unable to threaten China This kind of confidence also showed in the results of other questions related to the military and economy. The survey showed that 57.1 percent of the participants don't believe the Indian military poses a threat to China and 49.6 percent of them believed that the Indian economy is heavily reliant on China. Xie Chao, an assistant professor of Indian studies at Tsinghua University, said India became independent from British colonization in 1947, and the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, and at that time, India was more developed than China in terms of infrastructure and economy, but now China is way ahead of India in terms of infrastructure, urbanization, modernization, education, people's livelihood, science and technology, military and economy, so most Chinese have a strong sense of superiority and confidence when looking at India. Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, said it is true that China has much greater military strength than India, and due to media reports about some mistakes made by the Indian military, such as human errors that lead to frequent air crashes and submarine explosions, as well as the undeveloped and corrupt defense industry in India, many Chinese people, especially military enthusiasts, believe that the Indian army "is just a joke." But this is not a fair understanding of the Indian military, Song noted, adding that Indian military forces have more combat experience since they have frequent military conflicts with Pakistan, and they have deployed more troops in the border regions than the Chinese army, "so if we want to defeat our rivals in a potential real combat in the future, whether they are Indians or anyone else, we should respect and learn from our rivals instead of laughing at them. Laughing won't help our military win a war." A Beijing-based military expert who asked not to be named said the People's Liberation Army defeated an Indian invasion with an overwhelming victory in 1962, giving a great deal of confidence to the Chinese people. And in the latest border conflict and tension in the Galwan River valley from June to July, Indian troops attacked Chinese soldiers again on June 15 but still paid a heavy price and suffered serious causalities (20 deaths, 76 injured and 10 captured as reported by media), so most Chinese people see the Indian military as a "weak but annoying troublemaker." This is why 70.5 percent of participants agree that the Chinese government should be tough in fighting back against India's provocations, and 89.1 percent of participants support military retaliation when India once again launched border conflicts, and 50.4 percent of them "strongly support" self-defense and counter-attacks with force, while 38.7 percent of them "relatively support" it. Chinese analysts said the Chinese government did not use public opinion to escalate tensions with India, and decided to control and manage the conflicts, which was a very mature and responsible decision aimed at minimizing the damage to the two countries' overall relations, but the Indian government has failed to control its domestic nationalism and even used it to launch unfair sanctions against Chinese firms in the country. Interestingly, when asked "how long would India take to surpass China in terms of comprehensive national strength," 54 percent of surveyed respondents believe India "will never surpass China" and 10.4 of them said, "It will be possible in 100 years." Xie said it is hard to answer this question, but currently, China's economic size is five times bigger than India, so in terms of economy, it would be impossible for India to surpass China in the short term. Chinese analysts said before talking about surpassing China, India should at least solve its own long-held domestic problems, have an efficient and modern governance system, and improve the literacy and education situation among its 1.3 billion people, otherwise the world's second largest population won't have a sufficiently large skilled labor force. Economic cooperation supported In terms of economy, 49.6 percent of participants confidently believed that the Indian economy is heavily reliant on China, and most of them support economic cooperation between the two countries. Lou Chunhao, deputy director of the Institute of South Asian Studies at the CICIR, said two factors - India's huge trade deficit with China and India's reliance on Chinese mid-range products - must have led to surveyed participants' perception that economic cooperation should come ahead of other surveyed items, such as people-to-people exchanges, global governance and cooperation in addressing climate change. "Trade has always been the stabilizer of China-India relations, and China has been India's largest trading partner for years, except for in 2019 when it was replaced by the US," Lou said. In 2019, India ran a $56 billion deficit in merchandise trade with China, while total bilateral trade was $90 billion. India is heavily reliant on China in terms of active pharmaceutical ingredients, the materials needed for its drug exporting industry, and a wide range of mid-range industrial goods such as machines. This reliance was clearly exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted the global industrial chain. Sun Weidong, Chinese Ambassador to India, summarized this point when he said at a seminar in July that 92 percent of computers, 82 percent of color TV sets, 80 percent of fiber optics and 85 percent of motorcycle parts in the Indian markets were imported from China during 2018-19, citing Indian statistics. However, following a deadly border clash in June, India has launched a relentless crackdown on Chinese businesses, delaying customs clearance for Chinese goods, tightening investment reviews for capital from China, and banning nearly 300 Chinese-developed mobile apps, among other actions. In the survey, 35.3 percent of the respondents said they are very angry with the Indian actions and believed a tit-for-tat retaliation is necessary. This group compares with 29.3 percent of those surveyed who believe India is being unreasonable and China should choose to ignore its wrongdoings, while 23.2 percent believe the matter needs to be taken seriously. "Despite more than half of surveyed participants believing economic retaliation is unnecessary, I personally believe it is necessary for China to exert a bit of pressure on the South Asian country before it does more harm to bilateral economic relations," Lou said, citing research that found most Indians were in favor of its government's economic crackdown on Chinese interests. Lou said the Indian government is to blame for its serious wrongdoings that have harmed Chinese business interests in India and seriously harmed any confidence Chinese entrepreneurs had in the Indian market. "It is time for the Indian government to stop chest-beating and return to the right track of cooperation. After all, developing the Indian economy should be the Modi government's top priority," said Lou. US interference About 30 percent of participants see the border issue as the biggest obstacle between the two countries, while 24.5 percent of them cite "interference from the US," and 10.7 percent choose "competition between the two countries." Meanwhile, 66.4 participants believe that "India is following the US in containing China." US provocation played a huge role in the current deteriorating China-India relations, Hu said. The US, in its bid to confront China, created every opportunity to woo India regardless of cost, which created great difficulties for China to stabilize relations with India, Hu noted. India sees tense China-US relations as a strategic opportunity, Hu further said, adding that India believed the cost of offending China is lower than what it can get from the US.

"Of the Chinese internet companies I know, some have cut their business in India, and some Chinese venture capital funds have ceased investing in India and shifted to Southeast Asia," Wang Chao, a veteran in India's internet industry, told the Global Times on Thursday. Reuters reported Wednesday that Alibaba, which has invested over $2 billion in Indian start-ups since 2015, has put plans to invest in India on hold for at least six months amid rising tensions between the two countries. It said the company does not intend to reduce its stakes in existing Indian firms. Alibaba gave no comment when reached by the Global Times on Thursday. Alibaba-backed Ant Financial said in its IPO prospectus on Tuesday that a change in foreign investment regulation in India had led to a re-evaluation of making additional investment in Zomato. The Indian delivery platform announced in January that Ant Financial had committed an investment of $150 million in the company. India's reckless crackdown on Chinese businesses has dealt a heavy blow to the South Asian country's internet ecosystem, a Chinese businessman surnamed Liu, who is a mobile application operations manager in India, told the Global Times on Thursday. Liu said that many of the Chinese apps that were banned in India are considering moving to other markets, such as Southeast Asia nations and the Middle East, to diversify geopolitical risks in India. "For example, leading Chinese media app in India NewsDog has been engaged in developing live streaming services in India. NewsDog's new business focus will cover other markets other than India," he said, noting that the company is looking for regional managers for the new service. India's internet sector is estimated to fall behind by at least five years after the government banned many leading Chinese apps, Liu said. "Local entrepreneurs could have learned advanced technologies and concepts from influential Chinese internet companies, but the ban has left the market with just a handful of local apps capable of only basic functions such as ride hailing," he said. The integration of online in India's pan-entertainment sector may see slower growth as a result, Liu added. Against a backdrop of pressure on Chinese companies in investment, trade and other sectors, as well as the current anti-China sentiment in India, Chinese internet firms' investments in the country are predicted to "drop sharply" this year, Dai Yonghong, director of Institute of Bay of Bengal Studies with Shenzhen University, told the Global Times on Thursday. Dai said that a boomerang effect would eventually hurt India's economy, as "India's violation of the spirit of such contracts with such an abrupt crackdown on foreign companies will deter investment by US and EU companies too."