New Delhi, Sep 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) The importance of engaging with China's changing strategic outlook through an interdisciplinary lens, while deepening informed dialogue on what these shifts mean for India and the wider world, was emphasised during the fourth edition of Global Conference on New Sinology (GCNS) organised by the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA), this week.
Held under the theme of 'Zili Gengsheng in an era of ‘Great Changes Unseen’", the three-day event brought together 40-plus speakers, including over 13 international experts, to examine how China's idea of self-reliance, understood as "regeneration through one's own effort", is being reinterpreted in the context of global uncertainty. Discussions explored how this principle is being translated into policy frameworks covering scientific innovation, military modernisation, social governance and China’s international engagement.
The conference was preceded by a closed-door roundtable on 'Water Risks and Environmental Security in the Himalayas' on September 25, which analysed environmental and security challenges emerging in the Himalayan region. On September 27, ORCA hosted a curtain-raiser event, including a fireside chat with a senior official from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), marking the beginning of the GCNS 2026 proceedings.
The conference formally commenced with opening remarks by ORCA Director Eerishika Pankaj, who reflected on the growing prominence of 'Zili Gengsheng' in China’s political lexicon, tracing its roots to the Mao era and emphasising that the concept extends beyond conventional notions of self-reliance to encompass "regeneration through one's own efforts".
She noted that China's economic transformation and deep integration with global trade, technology and cross-border networks raise a central question regarding contemporary China: what does self-reliance mean for China today, and how is Beijing building the capacity to navigate and shape an increasingly uncertain domestic and international environment? This was followed by an opening keynote address delivered by Kerry Brown, who examined how self-reliance, historical narratives of national rejuvenation and China's growing technological capabilities are shaping its response to an era of unprecedented change.
The first session, 'How is China’s Self-Reliance Integrated and Implemented as a National Strategy?', examined China's approach to self-reliance, strategic responses to global change, signals from Zhongnanhai, and Beijing’s efforts to build a more self-sufficient national system. Experts including, Jonghyuk Lee and Yong Hong Han explored the political and policy signals emerging ahead of the 21st Party Congress in 2027, examining leadership continuity, elite politics, institutional adaptation and the Communist Party of China’s approach to long-term governance under President Xi Jinping. Other scholars, including Jiwei Qian and Shin Kawashima, explored CCP discourse on social stability, political uncertainty and economic headwinds, alongside China’s pursuit of AI capabilities amid growing technological competition and concerns over national sovereignty.
The second session, titled 'How Are China's Domestic Priorities and Foreign Policy Shaping the International Order?', focused on themes including the institutions and actors influencing China’s foreign-policy decision-making. During the Experts' Dialogue on India-China relations in the 2020s, Jagannath Panda and Srikanth Kondapalli analysed India-China relations, focusing on strategic rivalry, border tensions, economic competition and prospects for coexistence. Furthermore, eminent scholars like Minghao Zhao and Jiangnan Zhu examined how China’s Party-state apparatus shapes and drives its foreign-policy initiatives, while also exploring the role of political discipline within China’s foreign-affairs system. The discussion then broadened to examine China’s role in managing global crisis, with Miwa Hirono’s keynote address exploring the tension between Beijing’s strategic interests and its longstanding principle of non-interference.
The conference proceedings also featured a panel discussion on China's 15th Five-Year Plan, with Lt. Gen. S L Narasimhan (Retd) examining the role of civil-military fusion, while renowned Chinese economist Yang Yao explored the role of 'new quality productive forces' in driving high-quality development and shaping China’s economic and technological priorities.
GCNS also featured a series of closed-door roundtable discussions under the Chatham House Rule. These roundtables analysed strategic blind spots in how China is understood, its emerging vectors of regional contestation in South Asia, and the domestic challenges to Beijing’s pursuit of self-strengthening. The final roundtable, 'Towards 2027 and Beyond: Evaluating China's Next Phase of Military Modernisation', focused on China's military modernisation and the strategic priorities shaping its future capabilities.
Source: IANS
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