Essays on China

Jasjit Singh

The People’s Republic of China is not only a large country, spanning from the Pacific Ocean in the East to cover most of the Asian landmass till Central Asia in the West. The geographical spread is not the only challenge that China poses; understanding China poses a far bigger challenge. And limited transparency makes it that much more difficult. It has generally been accepted across the world that global power is shifting from West to East essentially due to the rise of China and India. Hence, there is a fundamental need for Indian scholars to study different aspects of China and its policies. Other parameters point toward the 21st century being much more of an Asian century. But history also tells us that Asia is the area where the longest wars have been experienced; where nine nuclear weapons states interact with each other; and where the challenges of human development are most acute.

It is against this background that we have undertaken this venture to put together a collection of essays on China on various issues and from different perspectives. We hope that this approach would help the reader to choose the area he or she wants to look at more closely and grasp the essence of China and its future policies, especially in relation to India. I am grateful to the contributors for their Herculean efforts; but the errors and shortcomings are mine and I apologise for them. We are confident that you will enjoy reading this book

Jasjit Singh Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, AVSM VrC VM, is the recipient of the Padma Bhushan for a life-time’s contribution to national defence and security as the country’s leading defence expert. He headed India’s premier think-tank, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) for 14 years till 2001. Since then, he is the Director General of the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi, and has authored many books, including Air Power in Modern Warfare; India’s Defence Spending; Defence from the Skies; and The ICON (a biography of Marshal of the IAF Arjan Singh), etc. He is a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, and has lectured extensively in defence and war colleges in India and abroad.