Report of the Webinar on China’s Himalayan Hustle – Part III: How China Is Upending the Himalayan Status Quo

This report is an outcome of the ‘China’s Himalayan Hustle-III: How China is Upending the Himalayan Status-Quo’ webinar held on August 15, 2024. The webinar brought together some of the finest experts on the subject and aimed to put a spotlight on China’s manipulative efforts to gain greater influence in the Himalayan region via its “charm offensive,” but ultimately coercive engagement with the smaller bordering countries of Bhutan, Nepal, or Pakistan, as well as continuing its military and psychological intimidation of its main regional rival, India. In other words, it explored how China seeks to alter the “relationship dynamics” among the Himalayan neighbors, and in turn South Asia in general.

For such a purpose, it examined the following questions: Is China-Pakistan growing economic-military convergence a double-edged threat to India and the region?

Is China taking advantage of Pakistan? What should Nepal and Bhutan be mindful of when dealing with China challenge? How should the EU and the US respond to Pakistan’s exceedingly China-friendly engagements?

How can the EU pursue a developmental engagement with India and its Himalayan neighbors like Nepal and Bhutan?

 

Read the report on China’s Himalayan Hustle-III here. 

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