India’s China Challenge by Ananth Krishnan

Ananth Krishan’s book, India’s China Challenge, is a notable examination of the challenge posed to India by the meteoric rise of China. Krishnan’s stay in China as a journalist for India Today and The Hindu, from 2008 to August 2018, and his knowledge of the Mandarin language have greatly enriched the depth of his examination of the subject. During his stay in China, he travelled to all but three of the country’s 33 provinces and regions, the China–India border in Tibet and Xinjiang, and the trading markets and factories of Guangdong. His conversations on contemporary issues with Chinese citizenry, while travelling the length and breadth of China, are delightfully interspersed throughout the book and add great value to the narrative. He paints a picture of China that is vastly distinctive from the unidimensional impression portrayed by the mainstream Indian media.