UPSC Express

Headline : China’s Wang Proposes Setting Up Confucius Institutes In India

Details :

The News

On the sidelines of the significant 1st meeting of the newly constituted India-China High Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges, China has proposed to develop more Confucius Institutes in India as part of ‘brand projects’.

Background: The Wuhan Summit

• Indo-China relations entered a reconciliatory phase post-Doklam standoff in the ‘Wuhan Summit’ an informal meeting held between PM Modi and Xi Jinping in April 2018.
• In the aftermath of ‘Wuhan Summit’, India and China have decided to increase cooperation on various fronts including
  • a decision to strengthen communication between the two Armies to avoid Doklam-like confrontation.
  • to balance the burgeoning trade deficit (about $52 billion) by encouraging agricultural and pharmaceutical exports from India.
  • a joint project in Afghanistan.
  • dialogue to discuss unresolved issues and “irritants” in the relationship like China’s blocking India’s NSG membership bid and India’s opposition to the Belt and Road Initiative etc.
• Further, in accordance with the ‘Wuhan Spirit’, the two countries decided to establish the 1st ever India-China High Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges.

India-China High Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges

• The mechanism aims to build greater synergies in the people-to-people ties between the two countries through enhanced exchanges in areas such as tourism, art, films, media, culture, sports and academic and youth exchanges.
• Accordingly all the existing bilateral cultural and people-to-people engagements between India and China is put under one umbrella.
• The 1^st meeting of the High Level Mechanism is a step in the direction of better cooperation in bilateral relations between the two countries.

Highlights of the Meeting

• India and China have agreed to develop ‘brand projects’ for improving people-to-people interaction.
• China has proposed to establish more ‘Confucius Institutes’ in India as a part of ‘’brand projects’.
• Further India and China have identified 10 pillars for people-people interaction.
• These include
• cultural exchange
• cooperation in films and television
• cooperation in museum administration
• cooperation sports
• exchanges between youths
• cooperation on tourism
• exchanges between states and cities
• cooperation in traditional medicine
• cooperation in yoga
• cooperation in education

About Confucius Institutes

• Confucius Institutes are the instruments of ‘soft power’ of China.
• Currently there are more than 500 Confucius Institutes established in 142 including over 150 Confucius Institutes in 51 countries along the Belt and Road Initiative.
• The Confucius Institute is a non-profit public institution which aims to promote Chinese language and culture in foreign countries.
• World over Confucius institutes are run by ‘Hanban’, a Beijing-based organization affiliated with China’s Ministry of Education.
• India also has India Confucius Institutes established in Mumbai University and VIT University in Vellore (Tamil Nadu).

Criticism

• Since the faculty is sent by ‘hanban’, they may be subject to outside influence.
• It is alleged that in USA their courses are biased.
• They ignore important events in China’s history involving human rights abuse and authoritarianism like the Tiananmen Square massacre is ignored
• Taiwan and Tibet are portrayed as undisputed territories
• Persecution of Uighurs and Falun Gong is not mentioned
• The American Association of University Professors has criticized these institutes as “functioning as an arm of the Chinese state”.
• Further the FBI has called them as “collectors” to infiltrate US universities and gather intelligence on behalf of the Chinese government.