Report of Webinar on China’s Himalayan Hustle – Part I: Can China Achieve Infrastructural Hegemony?

On June 13, 2024, the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs (SCSA-IPA) of the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm, hosted a webinar “China’s Himalayan Hustle Part I: Can China Achieve Infrastructural Hegemony?” with scholars and experts from Europe, United States, and South Asia.

The webinar was moderated by Dr. Jagannath Panda, Head of the SCSA-IPA, to examine the extent of the investments and reach in infrastructure that China has been building in the Himalayan region. Beyond that, the webinar was dedicated to analyzing the strategy and activities adopted by China for the Himalayan and whether the country can achieve its revisionist goals in the region.

The webinar aimed to explore China’s Himalayan strategy through its forays in neighboring territories to understand its long game in the region. And whether China can ultimately achieve its revisionist aims in the Himalayas. For such a purpose, this first webinar in a series involving some eminent experts on the subject aims to address the following questions: How does the Himalayan region factor into China’s contemporary neighborhood policy? What is the scope of China’s economic investments, including the BRI, in the Himalayan valley? What is China’s current infrastructural development plan in the Himalayan valley? How has the recently concluded “Two-Sessions” covered China’s Himalayan strategy on infrastructure development? What are the Western perspectives (both in the US and Europe) on China’s infrastructure development plan in the Himalayan region? What is the level of awareness about this region in the West, as compared to the maritime region of the Indo-Pacific such as the Taiwan Strait and the SCS? What are the Indian perspectives on China’s infrastructure development plan in the Himalayan region? Is there a context for the West and India to create a cooperation strategy against Chinese infrastructural hegemonic aims in the Himalayas? If yes, how? Read this webinar discussion report here.