'For the first time in a hundred years, the army has been taken out of the political equation. And for the first time ever, there is only one man who calls the shots. Not even Mao had this kind of power.'
'The return of India to its own civilisational values can never endanger freedoms as pluralism is the bedrock of our culture,' assert Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
As India and China continue to face off across the Himalayas six decades later, the echoes of that earlier conflict remain unmistakable. The core of China's sensitivity lies not in maps or mountain passes, but in its perception of sovereignty over Tibet, points out Dr Kumar.
If Beijing succeeds in this multipronged effort to challenge the current dominant power, it will have not just economic but political and security consequences. There is no let-up in the South China Sea nor any de-escalation moves on the India-China border. This portends to ominous signalling from Beijing, observes China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
There is a reason this 11 year phenomenon is a rule as much as it is an observation. It speaks to the nature of man and what humans are like, explains Aakar Patel.
'A man who brought about the greatest set of economic reforms in the country, who changed the course of Indian history, cannot be considered weak.' 'A man who fought for nuclear reforms even though his majority in Parliament was threatened, he cannot be considered weak.'
It's time India re-visited its Western alliances for the attitude and approach that the West reserves for the nation when it comes to security cooperation of the kind that they might not have visualised outside of China, India's bug-bear, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Xi Jinping at a ceremony to mark Martyrs' Day at Tiananmen Square, September 30, 2022.
We all know that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will turn 74 on September 17, but do you know how old these leaders are?
Thousands of pro-democracy protesters were killed on June 4, 1989 in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square as the People's Liberation Army launched a brutal crackdown on those demonstrating there against the ruling Communist Party of China for weeks.
"Manmohan Singh is a highly reputable reform-oriented economist, but he does not have the authoritarian clout that enabled Deng Xiaoping to start China's agricultural reform in 1978," says Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the US Federal Reserve.
One of the most forceful points Rishi raised during the debate was the rise of an inimical China, and how Britain must be prepared to deal with Xi Jinping's Beijing regime.
Six decades and more later, we are now captives of our identities. Every poll is based on elaborate calculations of electability of candidates on the basis of their castes and other narrow definers. That, along with voter promiscuity, is what defines our political culture, which remains stubbornly resistant to any change, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
'In the short term the relationship will get worse.'
When Jiang Zemin traveled, as you can see in the photographs here, a Kodak Moment was never far away.
After the outbreak of the pandemic in the country he has ruled with an iron hand in recent years, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist party of China, has mostly stayed put in Beijing.
Some may see China's decision to antagonise India as strategically unwise. But China believes its prestige demands standing up to India, whatever the cost.
China's deteriorating economy is a serious concern. Xi Jinping and China's new premier will have a difficult task ahead of them after the 20th party congress, notes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and China expert.
China's ambitious reform road map could transform the country's economy, but it conceals a return to old-style authoritarianism.
China's economic success is due less to its authoritarian system and more to Deng Xiaoping's leadership, its Far Eastern location and investments by its diaspora.
China's President for a decade Hu Jintao on Wednesday stepped down from power, leaving a stamp of his own on the ruling Communist Party, which incorporated his theory of Scientific Outlook in its constitution to figure along with the theories of top leaders like Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.
As China marks 60 years of Tibet's 'liberation', Claude Arpi lifts the veil off the propaganda surrounding the event
China's businessmen have always needed resilience, but now they must become accustomed to the spectre of bankruptcy.
Though he called his autobiographical novel Insider, P V Narasimha Rao was forever the Outsider. In death even more than in life, writes Sunanda K Datta-Ray
China's trade has zoomed despite doomsday predictions about the impact of WTO accession, but there are concerns.
Manmohan Singh and Yusuf Raza Gilani hold the key to South Asia's progress, observes Sanjaya Baru, former media advisor to the Prime Minister.
Commercial tensions came to a head on many issues between China and other major western countries.
The visit will give Rahul an opportunity to personally witness China's great leap forward after opening up its economy 29 years ago and subsequent reforms. It will also give the Chinese leadership an opportunity to size up the young Indian leader, touted as the next generation leader of the Congress.
China on Friday concurred with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's observation that an Asian Century cannot happen if India and China don't join hands and emphasised that the two neighbouring countries have 'far more common interests than differences'.
If you're planning to make the trip, we're looking out for the best places to stay, eat, party and of course see all the action!
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday visited an exhibition of the Communist Party, appearing in public for the first time after his return from the SCO summit on September 16, which sparked rumours about his absence from the limelight ahead of next month's key Congress of the ruling party.
Biden and Xi shook hands and greeted each other with smiles, standing in front of a row of US and Chinese flags.
The Chinese Communist party's central committee on Thursday, November 11, adopted a landmark resolution on the party's 'major achievements and historic experiences', effectively consolidating CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping's lifelong hold on power.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is at the helm of managing the country's economy for a decade, said that he will be stepping down this year, setting in motion the once-in-a-decade sweeping leadership change in the Communist country.
'Xi is keen that the remaining three territories still outside the Chinese ambit -- Taiwan, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Senkaku Islands in the East Sea -- be absorbed by the Communist regime by the time the centenary of the revolution rolls around in 2049.'
Except for Xi, 69, all top officials including the number two leader, Premier Li Keqiang will be replaced in the massive reshuffle to follow in the days to come, which included a new foreign minister replacing the incumbent Wang Yi.
'The title of 'core' of the leadership gives Xi Jinping greater political authority at a time when China is beset by various problems as well as a slowdown in economic growth,' points out former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday held their first in-person meeting in Bali, with both leaders underscoring the need to manage their differences and prevent a conflict, amid Beijing's coercive military posturing against Taiwan and in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
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