USI organised a Round Table Discussion with the visiting faculty of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, on 07 June, 2016. The USI team was led by Lt Gen PK Singh, PVSM, AVSM (Retd), Director, USI and the other members were Maj Gen BK Sharma AVSM SM** (Retd), Deputy Director(Research), Ambassador Vivek Katju, Ambassador P Stobdan, Shri Rana Banerji, and Professor Sujit Dutta.
The six member delegation from Sichuan University was led by Prof Yang Minghong, Executive Director, Faculty of Social Development and Western China Studies at Sichuan University. The other members were Dr Huang Yunsong, Faculty of Social Development and Western China Studies, Prof Bi Yantao, Communication Studies, Hainan Tropical Ocean University, Prof Zhou Wei, Director of Research Center of Human Rights Law at Sichuan University, Prof (Ms) Liu Zhaohua, Executive Editor-in-Chief, Open Times Magazine and Dr Yundan Nima, Assistant Professor, Institute of Social Development and Western China Development Studies, Sichuan University.
The RTD was also attended by eminent strategic experts from various other think tanks.
Round Table Discussion
The ‘Introductory Remarks’ were given by the Director, USI who welcomed the delegation and complemented the team on completing the joint project on “China’s One Belt and One Road: Initiatives, Challenges and Prospects”.
The theme of the first session was ‘Developments in Tibet & its Impact on Sino-Indian Relations’. The session was Chaired by Director, USI and Co-chaired by Prof Yang Minghong. The first presentation was made by Dr Yundan Nima, who expressed his views on ‘Democratization Process in Tibet’. Prof Minghong made his presentation on ‘Observations on the Violent and Terrorist Trend of the Exiled Tibetan’. This was followed by Prof Wei’s presentation on ‘The Influences of Tibetan Communities in Exile on Sino-India Policies and their Implications’. Lastly, Prof Bi Yintao spoke on the topic ‘Xi Jinping’s Mentality on News and Ideological Work’. From the Indian side Ambassador P Stobdan and Professor Sujit Dutta gave the Indian perspective on Tibet. This was followed by an interactive session where Indian and Chinese views on Tibet were discussed.
The Sichuan University Delegation
The USI Delegation
The second session focused on Sino-Pak Relations & its Impact on Sino-Indian Relations and Role of SCO in Countering Terrorism. This session was chaired by Amb Vivek Katju and Co-chaired by Prof (Ms) Liu Zhaohua. The Indian speaker Shri Rana Banerji gave his views on ‘China Pakistan Relations and Implications on India’ and the Chinese speaker, Prof Liu spoke on ‘Enhancing Counter-terror Cooperation within the SCO Framework: A Study of China, India and Pakistan Tripartite’. This was followed by a question answer session where important issues like terrorism and role of SCO were discussed.
USI & Sichuan Team Members
Report Prepared by Dr Raj Kumar Sharma, Associate Research Fellow, USI.