Press:
The Dalai Lama’s Succession: Strategic Realities of the Tibet Question SPECIAL ISSUE: The Dalai Lama’s Succession: Strategic Realities of the Tibet Question is a joint publication of the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs (SCSA-IPA) of the Institute for Security & Development Policy (ISDP, Sweden) and the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA, India).
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Continued Importance of May Fourth Movement for Xi Jinping's China OPINION PIECE: The May Fourth Movement was one of the most monumental intellectual revolutions and socio-political reform movements in China’s history. In recent years, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has given special focus to the relevance of the May Fourth Movement, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has regularly invoked its sentiments when addressing his hopes for China’s future —and more specifically, that of its youth — in the world.
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Changing State-Party Relations in China – An Overview of New Institutional Reforms OPINION PIECE: China unveiled its institutional reforms plan at the recent National People’s Congress (NPC) annual session, popularly known as ‘Two Sessions’ (两会). These reforms in China’s governance structure, implemented every five years, aim to streamline bureaucratic structure as well as to improve overall administrative efficiency.
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To Live《活着》: Movie Review MOVIE REVIEW: “To Live”《活着》, a Chinese drama film released in 1994, was directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Zhang Yimou. The movie is an adaptation of Yu Hua’s novel of the same name and is also referred to as “Lifetimes” in specific English versions. The movie was banned after release and unbanned in 2008 for its depiction of the Cultural Revolution. The director, Zhang Yimou, is also popular for directing the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
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China’s State Structure and the Two Sessions BACKGROUNDER: China’s state structure follows a mechanism that differentiates its legislature, executive and judiciary from one another. The country’s highest legislative body known as the National People’s Congress (NPC), acts as the power centre that keeps the state system intact and supervises both the legislature and the judiciary.
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India-China Trade Dashboard PROJECT: The India-China Trade Dashboard is a comprehensive visualisation of annual merchandise trade between the two economies. It captures India’s imports and exports to China between 2011-12 to 2021-22 based on the Harmonised System (HS Codes). The visualisation shows commodities traded in terms of value (Million US Dollar) at the Section, HS-2, HS-4, HS-6 and HS-8 levels. It displays the trends in India’s trade balance and annual import/exports vis-à-vis China at the aggregate and product level.
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China’s Nuclear Build-up: Implications for India EXPERT SPEAK: China’s nuclear build-up is much in news. The November 2022 annual report on Military and Security Developments related to the People’s Republic of China, released by the US Defence Department has raised its own estimates from last year on the likely increase in China’s nuclear warheads.
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China’s Provinces Dashboard PROJECT: The China’s Provinces dashboard is a resource for exploring differences in economic and social development across provinces in China. The resource visualises 76 statistical indicators of development, grouped into six categories: demographics, economic growth, income/consumption, trade, healthcare and environment. The indicators presented in this resource can be viewed for each province and sub-region of China.
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Dr Manpreet Sethi on China’s Nuclear Weapons Arsenal and Implications for India PODCAST: In this episode, Rahul Karan Reddy from ORCA speaks to Dr. Manpreet Sethi on her recently published article titled, ‘China’s Nuclear Build-up: Implications for India’. Dr. Sethi explains the context for the latest developments surrounding China’s nuclear weapons program, detailing the factors that explain China’s decision to enhance the survivability of its nuclear arsenal.
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A key gap in strategic/academic circles across India is that while focus on broad-level happenings in/about China is met with expansive writing and assessment, the crux of China’s society, its domestic policies (which in an one-party authoritarian setup such as China’s are more often connected to broader international manoeuvres), and the impression China holds of other countries as well as small moves made by Beijing — which may appear random or disconnected with respect to global happenings but in actuality hold much insight— are not analyzed.

Furthermore, there is no organization that effectively looks at ‘chatter’ in sources like Weibo, WeChat, Telegram, Clubhouse, Instagram, Twitter and more to connect it with more overt moves by China in its foreign policy. The Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA) seeks to address this very important gap in research. With assessments based on real-time, ground level chatter in and from China, we aim to add a new level of research insight to the understanding of how China perceives the world.

Opinion Pieces

  • Import Dependency as a Major Hurdle for China’s Food Security

    During Xi era, China’s per capita output of grains increased only marginally which resulted in growing dependency on imports during the same period which according to Xi, is a national security concern. This dependency has created several vulnerabilities for China which can be exploited in times of crisis.

  • Continued Importance of May Fourth Movement for Xi Jinping’s China

    The May Fourth Movement was one of the most monumental intellectual revolutions and socio-political reform movements in China’s history. In recent years, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has given special focus to the relevance of the May Fourth Movement, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has regularly invoked its sentiments when addressing his hopes for China’s future —and more specifically, that of its youth — in the world.

  • A Year to Remedy India’s waning Public Diplomacy in Nepal

    Elections in Nepal were a carefully watched and monitored affair by its Himalayan neighbours. India and China, in constant competition for economic and political clout in Kathmandu, were keen to show their support for democratic processes in Nepal to bring to power candidates favorable to their long-term goals.

Expert Speak

  • China’s Nuclear Build-up: Implications for India

    By — Dr Manpreet Sethi;

    China’s nuclear build-up is much in news. The November 2022 annual report on Military and Security Developments related to the People’s Republic of China, released by the US Defence Department has raised its own estimates from last year on the likely increase in China’s nuclear warheads.

  • Systemic Change under Xi Jinping – Issues and Implications

    By – Hemkumar Jain;

    In the run up to the quinquennial Party Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) being held from October 16th 2022, there is a frenzy of publications by the China-watching community in the media. They cover several topics and explore many facets, but retain an overwhelming focus on the likely personnel changes at the leadership level: particularly in the Politburo and its Standing Committee.

  • Xi Jinping’s Third Term: Beidaihe and Beyond

    By  – B. R. Deepak;

    At the close of the secretive Beidaihe meeting, Xi Jinping headed to the Liaoshen Campaign Memorial in Jinzhou on 16 August. Xi also had a meeting with the representatives of veteran soldiers

Issue Brief

  • A Retrospective Analysis of Mao Zedong Thought and its Modern Day Relevance

    By – Sachin Singh;

    As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) celebrates its centenary, it seems appropriate, in fact essential, to have a relook at its journey from a twenty first century perspective. An analysis of the unparalleled position held by Mao Zedong and his thoughts is central to this endeavour.

  • Faction Politics in China and its Implications for the 20th Party Congress

    By – Omkar Bhole;

    Most countries in the world have a political system where like-minded people from similar groups or parties run the country. However, such a system is largely open and transparent in democratic countries. In the case of China, this system, referred to as factionalism, is too opaque and thus, leaves much room for speculation.

  • China’s Food Security Strategy in the New Era: Policies and Challenges

    By – Ahana Roy;

    Chinese President Xi Jinping recently stressed the importance of independence in seed sources and emphasised the need for sustained efforts to achieve China’s food security. Furthermore, in April 2021, Xi Jinping declared that “food security is an important foundation for national security.”

Our mission

To build

Knowledge, interest and understanding across sectors, professionals and laypeople regarding China’s innate perceptions of —and responses to—Asia and especially India

To assess

Data/resources that narrate the daily ‘chatter’ of China’s domestic circles on happenings both within China and involving China beyond its own borders.

To link

Data/resource collection with the broader political, diplomatic, cultural, economic and social developments taking place and their impact on India’s regional power, India-China ties and India’s national and economic security.

To ensure

The venture emerges as a go-to resource tool for policymakers, scholars, students and enthusiasts alike.

To implement

Research and data from social media ‘chatter’ in China to dedicated subsections focused on India and its concerns

To publish

Daily newsletters, monthly reports and frequent publications that are dedicated to deciphering broader strategic chatter and data

Our Publications

Conversations in Chinese Media is ORCA’s daily newsletter that analyzes Chinese social media, smaller publications, regional papers and press-releases by Chinese state departments in a bid to connect the same with more overt moves by Beijing across the world. CiCM Insights is analysis based on our daily newsletter.

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CiCM Insights
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Opinion Pieces
Expert Speak
Issue Brief

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An eight-year-old Mongolian boy, born in the United States, has been named the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche, the third highest rank in Tibetan Buddhism, by the Dalai Lama. Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche is the third largest lama or spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and the leader of the faith in Mongolia. This news aroused the joy of Buddhists in Mongolia, but it also aroused the concerns of the Mongolian government, fearing that this move would anger the CCP. 

According to the Chinese foreign ministry, facts have repeatedly demonstrated that the drama for democracy orchestrated by the United States is never a boon but a curse for the world. Wang Wenbin made the remarks during a regular press briefing in response to a question about the upcoming second “Summit for Democracy” at the end of this month. “This so-called ‘Summit for Democracy’ is fundamentally anti-democratic,” Wang said. He claimed that the so-called “Summit for Democracy” drew a clear ideological line between countries and divided the world. It was a ridiculous show that violated the spirit of democracy and exposed the United States’ hegemony disguised as democracy, which has been criticised and opposed by many countries stated the spokesperson.

After the US Federal Reserve accelerated its increase in lending costs last year, China continued to reduce its holdings of US Treasuries amid rising long-term interest rates, which reduced the returns on its foreign investments. According to data made public by the US Department of the Treasury on Wednesday, China’s holdings fell to US$859.4 billion in January from US$867.1 billion in December, declining for the sixth consecutive month and hitting their lowest level since May 2009. This came as foreign holdings increased for the third consecutive month. As relations with the US deteriorated amid growing threats of financial sanctions from Washington, Beijing has grown increasingly wary of the US dollar’s dominance in international transactions. It has attempted to diversify its investment portfolio, but the United States remains its primary investment market.

The National Bureau of Statistics released data showing that from January to February this year, economic indicators have rebounded for the better, with the recovery of industrial production accelerating and business expectations improving. The economic cycle accelerated and smoothed from January to February, production demand improved significantly, and economic operation stabilized and picked up, but the external environment remained complicated and insufficient demand remained prominent. Fu Linghui, spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics stated that to boost market confidence, promote the overall improvement of economic operation, and achieve effective improvement in quality and reasonable growth in quantity, it was necessary to speed implementation of policies.

The navies of China, Iran, Russia and other countries will hold the “Security Bond-2023” maritime joint in the Gulf of Oman from March 15th to 19th. This exercise aims to deepen practical cooperation, demonstrate the willingness to jointly maintain maritime security, build a community of shared future for the sea, and inject positive energy into regional peace and stability as per the Ministry of National Defense.