The banquet hall at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai was packed to the brim with Chinese and Indian businessmen, in anticipation of the arrival of Premier Li Keqiang and his 200-strong delegation. The May 21 evening, organised jointly by India’s three top chambers of commerce, was a packed affair, in keeping with the guest from a country that is seeing seemingly boundless growth and global ascendancy. French wine, served with jumbo prawns and Indian King Alphonso mangoes was on the menu, served to Chinese businessmen from the power sector and consumer product sectors and the bolder, newer Indian entrepreneurs representing companies like Marico, Essar and Yes Bank. read more

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has wrapped up his maiden visit to India - his first port of call after becoming Premier. Throughout the visit, he repeated his theme of ‘handshake across the Himalayas’ and maintained that “a few clouds in the sky cannot shut out the brilliant sunrays of our friendship.” It was a charm offensive, and mandarins on both sides wasted no time in declaring the visit successful. Diplomatic and media hoopla aside, what are the key takeaways from this visit for India? read more

When India and Pakistan’s new leaders sit down to manage their faltering relationship, they will do well to take a leaf out of the India-China relationship book. When the two Asian rivals negotiated the recent military face-off in Ladakh – the most high-profile Sino-Indian border crisis since 1987, neither threatened to curtail trade and economic engagement. The prospect of a prolonged stand-off could endanger overall relations, underpinned by economic engagement, helped to defuse the military tension. read more

In many gulf nations, a bulk of the workforce often comprises of foreign workers; especially Indians. Despite the presence of a huge expat-labour based economy and strict labour laws, rights of immigrant workers are regularly compromised by the employers in many of these countries. Aakash Jayaprakash from the Qatar Foundation talks to Gateway House’s Anirudh Menon on Qatar’s existing labour laws; the Foundation and the government’s efforts towards improving labour practises in the country; infrastructure development for the 2022 FIFA World Cup; and the country’s Qatarization Policy. read more