While energy interests and the promotion of One-China Policy are the main drivers of Chinese aid, the white paper can also be read as a projection of China’s new position in the international order.

(ed.), HarperCollins, India 2010, Rs. 699, ISBN 978-81-72223-960-2

The success of popular movements in the Middle East has raised the apprehensions of the Chinese Communist Party, which has been reminded of its own weakness.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden visited Beijing on October 16 – 21 to discuss cooperation in manned space flight. While one swallow does not make a summer, it may signal that the US may be considering greater engagement with China in outer space, particularly manned flight.

South African President Jacob Zuma has affirmed the mutually beneficial economic relationship between China and Africa, including with his country, notwithstanding the negative sides to this relationship. It is clear that China’s role in Africa is changing the terms of engagement with the region. That is perhaps the biggest challenge for India and the rest of the world in their future Africa strategy.

This book is based on an International Seminar organized by the National Maritime Foundation titled “China and the Indian Ocean Region. The book has ten chapters which cover a number of aspects related to the security and politics involved in the Indian Ocean region. The papers in the book highlight the fact that the Chinese undertakings vis-à-vis the Indian Ocean is primarily aimed at securing the sea lanes of commerce. Today China is heavily depended on the import of its energy and resources in order to run the economy. The major route of this transport runs through the Malacca Strait.

Even though the report is fairly cautious in what it says and does not highlight anything new, the reactions on the Chinese side have not been that positive.

Chinese Foreign Policy: An Introduction by Marc Lanteigne
Routledge, London, 2009, pp. xii + 163, $39.95, ISBN 9780415465236