Open Seminar “China-US Competition in Asia: India’s Position” with Mr. Nandan Unnikrishnan

On April 6, 2023, an open seminar was held at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs within the framework of the project “India and the challenges of Global Politics”, which was devoted to the Indian view of the US-Chinese competition in the international arena.

The speaker at the seminar was Nandan Unnikrishnan, a distinguished fellow at Observer Research Foundation (ORF), who spoke about the nuances of Indo-Chinese and Indo-American relations, and also shared India's perception of the international situation and problems in Asia.

The seminar was also attended by Dr. Alexandra Morozkina, Deputy Dean for Science, Dr. Sergey Luzyanin, Professor of the School of International Regional Studies, Dr. Olga Solodkova, Professor of the School of International Regional Studies, Dr. Alexey Zakharov, Research Fellow at the International Laboratory on World Order Studies and the New Regionalism, Dr. Nivedita Kapoor, Research Fellow at the International Laboratory on World Order Studies and the New Regionalism, Dr. Olga Kharina, Research Fellow in the School of International Regional Studies, students who work on the project "India and the Challenges of Global Politics" Anastasia Lachinova and Ekaterina Kosareva, as well as students of the Master’s program "International Relations: European and Asian Studies" and guests from the HSE and other universities.

Mr. Nandan Unnikrishnan began his report by highlighting the Indo-Chinese relations and the unresolved problems hindering their closer cooperation. The lecturer stressed that one of the reasons for China's more hostile behavior near the Indian border is Beijing's desire to warn India not to get too close to Washington.

The creation of an anti-Chinese alliance is one of the priorities of foreign policy of the USA, and India, due to its geographical proximity to Beijing, seems to be a very convenient ally.

Nevertheless, cooperation between China and India is possible, but the states need to resolve border issues first.

At the end of his speech, the speaker noted that India perceives itself as a great power. This means that if it is in the shadow of another superpower, it will not be able to be considered as such.

The seminar ended with a question and answer session.