In the summer of 2020, China, despite facing international condemnation for its response to the pandemic, entered into an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with India in the border areas of Ladakh. Though many analysts insist that the unprovoked Chinese action was aimed at deflecting attention from the pandemic, the real reason lies elsewhere President Xi’s ambitious plans for his nation. It is to strengthen the China-Pakistan economic corridor (cpec) that leads from gwadar port in Balochistan to China’s Xinjiang province and passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (pok). this opens a new shortened path for Chinese exports and imports that otherwise would have to go through Eastern China located far away. Ladakh allows relatively easy access to both pok and Xinjiang; thus the Chinese seek to get a toehold in Ladakh. Even as he re-examines outdated assumptions and makes path-breaking discoveries about China’s new ‘great game’, Kingshuk Nag argues that it is imperative to understand history and learn from it to assess current events. Nag insists that India and China are vastly different nations with very diverse political and economic strategies—something that Indians must understand in order to counter the Chinese conundrum.
Broad in sweep and range, a new silk road is a must be read by anyone concerned with international affairs.