Source: James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies

China is increasingly paying attention to India’s military modernization and space capabilities. Carnegie’s Lora Saalman combed archives of key Chinese military, international relations, science, and security journals for articles referencing India, tracking changes in the depth and frequency with which they discuss India. She noticed five trends reflected in the way that prominent international relations journals describe China, which she presented at a luncheon seminar at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Increasingly, articles:

• Consider India’s military modernization;
• Deal separately with India and Pakistan;  
• Provide in-depth analysis of Indian military equipment and systems;
• Compare Chinese and Indian developments and the resultant implications for China;
• Discuss India in relation to China’s military modernization.

Saalman also interviewed Chinese and Indian officials and analysts. She noted that many within China were particularly concerned about creating an enduring stability and cooperation with India, a perspective that was less pronounced in India and even scarcer in journal articles. Saalman advocated collaborative measures to reduce the perception of bilateral threats, including the collaborative composition of a glossary to reduce the notorious ambiguity in space weapons terms. She also suggested that India and China develop Codes of Conduct to better align their policies on space and their border.