By Mariam Fathima, Research Intern, C3S Guided By Professor Ashik Bonofer Introduction In the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, Central Asia has emerged as a strategically significant region because of its central location in Eurasia and its vast energy and natural resource reserves. Once the centre of historical trade networks such as the Silk Road, the region has regained global attention as major powers seek to expand their strategic, economic, and political influence,...

The Chennai Centre for China Studies (C3S) attended the 115th National Day celebration of the Republic of China (Taiwan) held at The Leela Palace, Chennai. The grand event was organised by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC), Chennai. The occasion brought together well-wishers, institutional partners, and friends of the TECC, marking a significant gathering of diplomatic, academic, and socio-political figures. The event was notably attended by several Members of Parliament from...

By Leela S, Research Intern, C3S Guided By Col. Hariharan Introduction The China-Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir Economic Corridor (CPOJKEC), a $65 billion flagship project under the “Belt and Road” initiative, was first proposed in 2013 by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during his visit to Pakistan and officially launched in 2015. It further accelerated rapidly during President Xi’s visit to Pakistan in 2015, when both states agreed on the “1+4” structure of the corridor, positioning...

BY SHUBHI MALHOTRA & Dr. ADITYANJEE Introduction In the summer of 2026, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social a photograph of himself strolling alongside North Korean dynastic dictator Kim Jong Un at the Capella Hotel in Singapore, the site of their historic 2018 summit. The image was not a photograph of a new meeting. It was a nostalgic gesture; a piece of political messaging directed as much at Pyongyang as at Trump's domestic audience. Yet its meaning was unmistakable: the Trump...