Courtesy: Shutterstock
The services sector is the most dynamic in the global economy, constituting nearly 25% of global trade, but its intangibility – unlike the materiality of trade in goods – makes it difficult to monitor. Service providers in this sector need a national regulatory governing framework
Courtesy: Shutterstock
India will host four prestigious international conferences, such as the India-Africa Forum Summit and the subsidiary SCO Summit in the course of the next three years. These are historic opportunities for the country to show global leadership and fulfil a diplomatic agenda that involves handling strategic competition and advancing partnerships
Courtesy: Flickr/MEA
The 35th summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations, held in Bangkok early in November, showed that a shifting geostrategic landscape notwithstanding, “ASEAN centrality” in the region is a top priority with members. It also served as a backdrop for three summits that ASEAN held on November 4 with China, U.S. and India
Courtesy: Shutterstock
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is an inter-agency body which reviews in-bound foreign investments for their impact on national security. The Treasury Department recently proposed draft regulations, strengthening it. An analysis of the effect these amendments have had – and their applicability in an Indian context
Courtesy: Shutterstock
In India, China’s tech giant companies and venture capital funds have become the primary vehicle for investments in the country – largely in tech start-ups. This is different from other emerging markets where Chinese investments are mostly in physical infrastructure. Chinese FDI into India is small at $6.2 billion, but its impact is already outsized, given the increasing penetration of tech in India
Courtesy: Shutterstock
Chinese investments in India’s soft power sectors, such as smartphones and apps, glitter like a diamond necklace around India. Here is anecdotal evidence of their reach and capacity to harvest more data than necessary, with recommendations for their regulation
Courtesy: MEA/Flickr
There have been mixed reactions to India’s not signing on to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. India is often criticised for abstaining from trade agreements and being a protectionist nation, but in fact, the reverse is true. The country’s trade to GDP ratio of 43% is higher than China’s 38% and the U.S.’ 27%. This shows how important trade is for India, particularly if it wants to reach the 2024 goal of being a $5- trillion economy.
Courtesy: Forum 2000
Peaceful dissent was the original animus for the formation of the Forum 2000 Foundation. Started by the late Czech dissident Vaclav Havel, the conference, held in Prague every September, offers a platform to experts and activists from around the world to revisit ideas about pacifism and protest
Courtesy: Shutterstock
Partisan media coverage of the anti-government protests in Hong Kong points to a new Cold War between the United States and China. The author examines the divergent approaches of the Chinese and international media and the biases they betray
Courtesy: TICAD7/Flickr
The Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development was a departure from earlier editions of it. Japan, which is changing tack as a competitor to China in Africa, held back from publicising the number of heads of state present to prevent any comparisons with other such forums and made no further commitments on Overseas Development Assistance. The accent, instead, was on increasing Japanese private sector engagement