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THUrSDay, aPrIL 8, 20214Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alame-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.comThursday, April 08, 2021Role ofremittanceABangladesh Bank study reports that remittance sentby expatriates is mostly used for consumption and inthe "non-productive" sectors in the country. Thesurvey conducted in 2011 found 90% of remittances wereused for meeting basic needs. Seventy-five percent ofhouseholds receiving remittance spent those on food, 42%on loan repayment, 65% on education, 57% on treatment,49% on marriage and 4% on running legal battles (multipleresponses allowed). Experts described these as failure ofsuccessive governments to act on diverting the remittancesinto "productive" sectors instead of consumption.Nothing could be further from truth even if we assumefor the sake of argument that all remittances go to financeconsumption plus acquisition of assets such as land.The criticism is flawed for several reasons. Remittancesin Bangladesh are generally a contribution to the familybudget, not capital flows. Given the socio-cultural andeducational background of the majority of migranthouseholds, they are generally ill-prepared to undertakerisky activities. Evidence from some countries includingBangladesh shows that the pattern of expenditure isinvariant between remittance-receiving and non-receivinghouseholds when controlled for income and socio-culturaldifferences.Spending remittances on consumption often contributesto improved health, education and human capital,enhancing both private and public welfare. It may be that inmany cases a significant part of the remittance-relatedinvestment increases stock of wealth of the migranthousehold in the form of land, housing and jewelry. Butthese have indirect macro-economic effects ondevelopment. They provide a monetary base for the supplyof credit that can be used as investment capital. Whether ornot the supply of additional credit will actually be used forinvestment purposes depends on the efficacy of the bankingsystem, the government and, more generally, on the overallinvestment climate.In Bangladesh as elsewhere, remittances have a related,but distinctive type of positive effect on the rural economywhere lack of effective demand is often a serious constrainton economic growth. A large part of the remittances isalmost invariably spent on locally produced goods andservices. New demands for a variety of goods and services,largely from a class within society that had previously littlepurchasing power, have a powerful impact on production ofboth tradable and non-tradable labor-intensive goods andservices, land markets, construction and spread of bankingand commerce. The consequent stimulus given to localindustry, through better utilization of installed capacity orcreation of new productive units, far exceeds the value of theinitial rounds of expenditure. By generating a multipliereffect they stimulate aggregate demand, output and income.Analyses of the dynamic macro-economic impact ofremittance induced expenditure show that its multipliereffect on GNP could be as high as 1:2 or 1:3. In other words,a remittance of $1 million could increase the country's GNPby more than $2 to 3 million. Remittances in Bangladesh areestimated to have a multiplier effect of 1:2.1 on GNP in thelong run.Some caveats deserve mentioning. When remittanceslead to increased trading of existing goods, such as housesand land, the expenditure may increase the stock of wealthand investment of the family, not the country. However,except in highly implausible cases where the supply ofproduction inputs is completely inelastic and factors areimmobile, increased demand due to remittance inducedexpenditure lead over time to increased growth andemployment, even if it creates inflation in the short term.Nonetheless, the slow response of input supplies could wellbe a real problem, reducing the multiplier effect ofremittance expenditure on income and output. This may beexacerbated if in the face of rising inflation at the local levelthe central bank adopts a tighter monetary policy, thusoffsetting some of the local multiplier effect by stiflingdemand elsewhere in the economy.The nature of linkages between the remittance-receivinglocalities and the national economy also influences theremittances' multiplier effect on the overall economy. Whenremittances are concentrated in limited areas, as is the casein Bangladesh, the growth impulses of the multiplier are notlikely to be transmitted to the national economy. However,to the extent that the remittance-receiving areas areintegrated with the rest of the economy, a good part of thebenefits of remittances tends to be passed on to other partsof the country. The overall development effect of remittancescannot be fully gauged by focusing on the remittancereceivingcommunities alone without accounting for thepositive effect of remittances to the other parts of theeconomy.Summing up, remittances can make a positive impact onoutput growth and overall economic performance under twoeconomy-wide conditions. First, the economy has anintegrated productive structure capable of respondingpositively to the stimuli of remittances from abroad. Second,the country has sound macro-economic policies, politicalstability, and an investment-friendly environment,including an efficient financial system and publicadministration. Remittances, by themselves, cannot createthese conditions. Absent such conditions, remittance stillincrease welfare by supplementing budgets of the recipienthouseholds, providing the foreign exchange needed forfinancing imports related to domestic consumption andinvestment, and deepening the deposit base as well as theincome sources of the domestic banking system.Wisdom of Crowds for innovative teachingThe most fundamental contributionof education is to enable people tobetter themselves to engagethemselves in socially productive tasks tobuild a stronger nation economically andotherwise. The assumption is that at theend of an academic programme, thelearners, i.e., the students, would acquirecapabilities that, in turn, would add tothe competitive advantage of theirrespective countries throughtechnological and also non-technologicalmeans. This fits well in an input-outputmodel in which the inputs are thestudents. They are also the outputs buthaving gone through a transformationsystem, i.e., an educational process thatmakes them professionally more capablethrough value addition. The question iswhether any value has been addedduring the learning process, and if so,what is its quantum. This is where thequestion of teaching and assessmentcomes in.In recent times, questions have beenraised publicly about education'seffectiveness because it consumes asubstantial national GDP at the nationallevel. Accordingly, the demand for anaccountable and transparent teachingand assessment system has beennoticeable. While we have witnessed anunprecedented level of growth in Highereducation in Bangladesh over the pastthree decades, change was mainly withinthe private sector. Both the number ofhigher educational institutions and thenumber of students in this sectorreached an unprecedented level. Thecountry has already proved it is in a rapidgrowth trajectory and is becoming one ofthe world's most expanded economies.Therefore, growth and developmentmust go hand in hand. Now is the timefor the nation to have a more robusteducation policy, and institutions mustbe more agile to adapt and change theirDr P. r. DaTTaBlended Learning Center (BLC) can be the Role Model for Online EducationThe corona virus(COVID-19)pandemic isthe defining globalhealth crisis of ourtime and the greatestchallenge we havefaced since theSecond World War. Second wave ofCorona began to hit in Bangladesh as wellas worldwide which effects and paralyzesour normal life. County is now facing LockDown for second time.At this pandemic the sector which isfacing lockdown in Bangladesh for morethan a year is education. Schools, colleges,universities or even their residential hallsare still locked down. Online activities aregaining momentum day by day.Educational institutions for their survivalare also trying to continue academicactivities through online platform. Due tolack of previous practice and incorporationof well equipped modern facilitiesmaximum institutions are facing lot oftroubles and obstacles for smoothoperation of online academic activities.But there is an institution, and that's notin any developed country, rather in thisdeveloping Bangladesh, which hasn'twaited much even for a single day tocontinue its all sorts of academic andadministrative activities. That is DaffodilInternational University (DIU). Thegreatest weapon that DIU is currentlyusing is its own Blended Learning Center(BLC), Learning Management System(LMS) and Go Edu platform. DIU startedusing online platform BLC from the dayone it faced lockdown. Not only that DIUrecognized as Digital University has theearlier experience of conducting classesthrough online platform since 2013.100% academic activities of theuniversity are going on in full swingsmoothly using the BLC platform whichDIU started in 2013. As the teachers andstudents have earlier experience and arehabituated with online platform for thelast 8-10 years, so it becomes very easy forthem to conduct academic andadministrative activities. As a part ofcomplete automation and digitalization,the university has combined the strengthof its BLC platform for performingacademic activities and Smart Edu foradministrative purposes".Blended Learning Center (BLC) is theunique digital teaching and learning hubof Daffodil International University. Theplatform aims to connect teachers andstudents effectively allowing teachers totrack progress of individual students andbetter facilitate their learning.Daffodil International University hasreputation as the pioneering digitaluniversity in Bangladesh. As the process ofits digitalization DIU has been developingBLC from 2013 and equipping studentsand teachers compatible to work with this.An efficient and active team is working forthe continuous development and trainingof teachers and students. Apart from thatapproaches to align with current needs.To address global dynamism,institutions must move with the trendsand time. Innovative teaching andassessment are essential to provideadequate scaffolding for knowledge anddevelop a moral citizen. However, itseems we are losing day by day the truemeaning of educational philosophy thatknowledge is an internal manifestation,and all educational system mustrecognise and discover this. Independentlearning is not the current norm of oureducation; instead, it is tutors driven inwhich students are bombarded withinformation in a mechanical way.Innovative teaching approaches areimperative to enhance learners' learningexperiences. Assessment should not be aone-time exercise at the end of aprogramme but needs to be continuous.As a course progresses, there should be adiagnostic exercise to identify students'strengths and weaknesses so that there isdefinite progress in the students'achievement - that weaknesses areminimised, and their strengths aremaximised. Periodically, therefore, thereshould be home tasks, class tests andgroup assignments throughout theprogramme. This assessment phase,referred to as formative assessment, ismeant to enhance the students' learningprocess, mainly through feedback. Thereis another aspect to it that should not bemissed the sight of. In this phase, ifMD. aNowar HaBIB KazaLthe academic departments also pouredtheir heart and soul to equip themselveswith the tools and technologies available inthe BLC platform within the shortest timepossible. As a result, DaffodilInternational University (DIU) had beensuccessfully conducting online classesfrom the start of Covid-19 pandemic usingthe BLC platform, LMS, and Go EduplatformAt the beginning of the transformationto fully online class, there were someproblems with the poor internetconnection for the students located inremote locations of the country. However,because of the low data functionality ofBLC, DIU has overcome the problemwithin a very short time. Along with it,DIU also worked on collaborating withGrameen Phone and Robi to bring in a lowprice data package for its students.At this pandemic, the university hasbeen successfully completing all academicand administrative activities throughonline and served the majority of itsstudents located in remote locations of thecountry. Presently the university couldsuccessfully accommodate over 29000users including students, teachers andadministrators, Over 7154 courses in theBLC platform with a strong cloud basedinfrastructure.BLC is a well structured & robust e-Learning Management System and is aone stop solution to create, organize,communicate & manage courses. BLC isvery simple to use & manage for teachers &students with incredibly powerful plug-insand integrations. The platform comes witha drag and drop Course Builder that helpsteachers to publish courses with ease. It isconvenient to add or create (link orembed) course materials, new lessonsvideos, audio, PowerPoint, driveresources, any files from desktop, andeven interactive contents. The platformcontains over 25 inbuilt features alongwith hundreds of plug-ins and integrationsthat extends the possibilities for theteachers to engage their students inmultiple and flexible ways.Quizzes, assignments, forums andonline workshops provoke curiosity andmake students participate in coursesmore. It comes with the most advancedquiz creator allowing teachers to set anykind of questions with ability to set timedquiz and track the attempts of thestudents. With this, the teachers canmaintain the quiz quality and integrity ofthe quiz or examinations. The platformalso is integrated with Turnitin Plagiarismchecker to present teachers with theproperly conducted, the students,through participation and contributionto completing their group assignments,can learn the outstanding contributionthat group culture/teamwork makes tomanagerial effectiveness- an importantfactor in organisational performanceoften underestimated. Students areexamined and receive marks and gradesfor their performance in the final phaseof assessment, referred to as summativeassessment.The main thrust of teaching andassessment is to establish theeffectiveness of teaching and learning asit seems we are losing day by day the true meaning of educational philosophythat knowledge is an internal manifestation, and all educationalsystem must recognise and discover this. Independent learningis not the current norm of our education; instead, it is tutors driven inwhich students are bombarded with information in a mechanical way.such. A properly executed diagnostic andformative assessment will show theirimpact on how far the participants havemoved along the path of higher-orderskills as propounded by Bloom (Bloom'sTaxonomy). The summative assessmentwill be the ultimate test to show how farthe transformation process has enrichedthe students. If properly conducted, thestudents will now be that much moreconfident to face the world ofemployment. If this were to happen at anational level, society would be thatmuch stronger. But its impact does notend here. As alumni, it is well known,and students significantly influence theiralma maters in curriculum formation totake their universities/colleges furtherahead. In turn, this will have its effect onthe teaching faculty as well. Assessmentis, thus, holistic and should not be seenoriginality report of the students'submissions.With these many options, teachers areable to set questions to assess the studentsfollowing Bloom's Taxonomy so that theteachers can easily identify what level ofunderstanding they (students) are atpresent and accordingly provide themfurther guidelines. All assessment resultsare accumulated automatically to a highlycustomizable grade book which gives theteachers an overview of how each studentis performing in the course. Students canalso see their records anytime from thereso that they can plan and prepare betterfor the next assessments. In a word theplatform has increased the transparencyand integrity for both the students andteachers. The examination section of theuniversity can also track and check theserecords that allow them to ensure theexamination quality and integrity.The BLC Platform also supportsmultiple instructors for a single course.This is helpful for teachers to collaboratewith one another in preparation for thecourse and also improve the contentThe greatest weapon that DIU is currently using is its own BlendedLearning Center (BLC), Learning Management System (LMS) and Go Eduplatform. DIU started using online platform BLC from the day one it facedlockdown. Not only that DIU recognized as Digital University has the earlierexperience of conducting classes through online platform since 2013.quality. Departments can also keep courserepositories separately in the platform sothat teachers can update their coursesfrom time to time before offering thecourses for the new semester.Departments can also check theserepositories and provide guidelines toteachers on the improvement scopes.Moreover, the BLC platform has its ownanalytics tool with three separatedashboards: Teacher Dashboard, StudentDashboard and Admin Dashboard. Withit, the teachers can check the performanceof their students and their courses from asingle dashboard and get a detailed reporton their courses with a few clicks.Similarly, the students can also get insighton their present performance from variouscourses so that they can prepare well andget organized or take help from theirteachers. The Admin Dashboard let theuniversity management gain insight andreport on the overall performance andactivities of the platform allowing them toensure teacher and student success. Thereports are segmented into useful insightpoints like active teachers, coursecompletion, teacher engagement,abnormal grades, innovative teachers,active students, at risk students and so on.These reports can also be sorted accordingto the Faculties, Departments andSemesters. Also it is possible to get reportsof a custom period of time.One of the greatest upsides to teachingonline through BLC is that the classes canas bureaucratically burdensome if it isproperly conducted and is weighed incost-benefit terms.However, sadly, teaching, learning andassessment paradigms in Bangladeshseems in its fixed mindset and does notwant to move from their primitive natureto a large extent. It still lacks a coherentapproach to provide a heuristic androbust nature of learning experiences tostudents. Most assessments are based onrigorous examinations at the end of thesemester, while teaching is till one-waycommunication and tutors driven. Tomake teaching and assessment studentscentric the institutions and educatorsshould focus on innovative practices thatare only possible when collectiveintelligence is given consideration. Thewisdom of crowds in teaching andassessment will enhance learnerslearning experiences and knowledge.The introduction of flipping classroom& collaborative teaching will enablelearners to change active users'knowledge from passive learners. Thatwill help them to become more confidentand master of their field. In the age ofglobalisation & unprecedentedtechnological advancement, we mustfocus on students' teaching experienceand create a growth mindset with themultidisciplinary and interdisciplinaryunderstanding that makes compoundknowledge. Today's students are moreprone to social media network andtechnological platforms. These becomean indispensable tool for many studentsand educators to gather information andcommunicate to the broader audience.Many organisations and social networkusers use crowds' wisdom to collect datafor the decision-making process.The Writer is Executive Chair,Centre for Business & EconomicResearch, UKbe easily made visually appealing, withvideos from multiple sources likeYouTube, google, drive, edpuzzle, H5Pinteractive content. To create courses forthe students, teachers can upload a varietyof multimedia files, images, PDFs, docs,excel sheets and so on. Teachers also canassign custom badges based on theactivities in the courses. Students find itvery encouraging and rewarding to engagein the course activities to earn thosebadges.Students can interact freely with theproblem discussion forum sections, wherethey can comment and ask questions tothe teachers, students can also review, rateand give feedback on their courses.Teachers also take periodic feedback andsurveys from the students from within theBLC platform.The BLC platform is currently based onan intellectually designed cloudinfrastructure suggested by both locallyand internationally recognized expertswhich enables the students to learnregardless of their remote location orinternet connectivity and makes learninginteractive and lively. In the recentsemester DIU teachers have initiated atotal of 1647 courses through the BLCplatform where over 16000 activestudents are engaged and continuing theirstudies online. The university also has thetechnology to conduct various learningwebinars aiming to develop both teachersand students and through which studentsget the opportunity to have classes withworld's renowned professors.It is Daffodil International University(DIU), relentlessly striving for thebetterment of higher education in nationaland international levels. One of thechallenges that private universities face isregarding credibility, transparency andvalidity. The university is continuouslyexcelling in world rankings with itseducation and researches. Even at thispandemic situation, still DaffodilInternational University is running withits usual pace, even faster.Lots of students fear about session jamin the coming future. But, DIU hasinspired other institutions to run theoperations even in this crisis. Not only theacademic, any institution can beencouraged by its effort like SmartEdu. Inthe next challenging New Normal world,where even survival might be a big factor,Daffodil International University iscommitted to build its students as fullyfitted with entrepreneurial mindset andtechnological expertise. The University isindeed leading the country's educationfrom the front during the pandemic. DIUis now getting ready to contribute inUdemy, CourseEra etc. famous onlinelearning platforms. It is thereforeprogressing beyond national boundaryand to contribute worldwide.Md. Anowar Habib Kazal, SeniorAssistant Director (Public Relations),Daffodil International University
THurSdAY, APrIl 8, 20215China-Iran relations and the issue of massive investmentWilliam FigueroaOn March 26, Iran and China signed an agreementexpressing a desire to increase cooperation and traderelations over the next 25 years. This Strategic CooperationAgreement, as it is officially known, has been hailed as amassive overhaul of Sino-Iranian relations that will see Chinainvest anywhere from $400 to $600 billion in Iran, withsome estimates running as high as $800 billion.Proponents of the deal hail the onset of mutually beneficialrelations between two influential Asian countries with ashared desire to reduce and resist U.S. influence in theregion. China is seen as a vital lifeline for a country weakenedby sanctions and diplomatic isolation. After eight years ofcourting the West with nothing to show for it, many Iraniansacross the political spectrum are hungry for a new wayforward. China represents a change of course - whether as anew potential partner or a "China Card" for leverage in Iran-U.S. negotiations.Opponents paint a much bleaker picture. Some analystshave expressed concerns that the deal threatens U.S. goals inthe Middle East, or the fundamental stability of the regionitself. Others have gone further and explicitly called Chinaand Iran "the new Axis of Evil." On social media, Iranianshave decried rumors that the deal will lead to nuclear wastedumped in the desert and islands in the Gulf sold to China.The agreement has been called a "New Treaty ofTurkmanchay," referring to the 19th century treaty that sawQajar Iran cede territory to the Russian Empire. Others claimthat Iran will be flooded with Chinese workers and crimeriddenChinatowns.Between the clashing narratives of the agreement "sellingIran to China" and "America defeated," what is the truth ofthe matter? The text of the agreement has not yet emerged,and likely will not be published, so all analysis must betempered with caution. However, a draft of the agreementleaked last summer, and it is unlikely the text substantiallychanged in the intervening six months. Furthermore,multiple outlets report that their sources have said there islittle changed from the leaked agreement. What can be saidabout the deal based on this leaked draft?First off, nowhere in the text of this or any other officialdocument or pronouncement is any numerical figurementioned. There are also no provisions whatsoever for thesale of islands, military bases, occupation, or anything thatwould sustain the other alarmist claims. This has beenthoroughly debunked by multiple scholars, and a quickglance at the text will confirm their claims. While the draftitself appears to be genuine, the claims of $400 billion ofChinese investment and massive military concessions can beWhy the 25-Year China-Iran Strategic Cooperation Agreement isn't a "big deal," literally orfiguratively.Photo: Ebrahim Noroozitraced to a poorly sourced Petroleum Economy article from2019, which has since been taken offline.First off, nowhere in the text of this or any other officialdocument or pronouncement is any numerical figurementioned. There are also no provisions whatsoever for thesale of islands, military bases, occupation, or anything thatwould sustain the other alarmist claims. This has beenthoroughly debunked by multiple scholars, and a quickglance at the text will confirm their claims. While the draftitself appears to be genuine, the claims of $400 billion ofChinese investment and massive military concessions can betraced to a poorly sourced Petroleum Economy article from2019, which has since been taken offline.hinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said theday after that the China-Iran Strategic ComprehensiveAgreement "neither includes any quantitative, specificcontracts and goals nor targets any third party, and willprovide a general framework for China-Iran cooperationgoing forward."he same day, Reza Zabib, head of East Asia at Iran ForeignMinistry, called the agreement a "non-binding document." Inresponse to why the text has not been published, he claimedthat "there is a legal requirement to publish agreements;however, the publication of non-binding documents is notcommon." Both sides have now admitted that the plancontains no "quantitative, specific contracts" and is a "nonbindingdocument." In my view, this confirms what wassigned was little changed from the leaked agreement lastsummer. The agreement can best be described as anaspirational document. It is a signal that Iran may growcloser to China, but not a guarantee. It provides no methodsfor enforcement, measurable goals, or specific programs. Itcalls for vague "cooperation" through "enhancement ofcontacts" in several areas. China also pledged to increaseinvestment in Iran tenfold in 2016, with little progress toshow for it five years later. In fact, Chinese investment hasdecreased substantially since then.It is notable that both pledges came in the wake of a newU.S. president with a new foreign policy. This does not meanthat China-Iran ties are driven by U.S. policy, but the tendencyto trumpet them, and exaggerate them, is partly driven by thedesire to project strength internationally.Whether the agreement would be "mutually beneficial"depends on what perspective one takes. For the Iranian state,it provides several benefits: a stable partnership with Chinameans a stable market for oil at a time when U.S. sanctionshave seriously hurt its revenues. It also projects an image ofstrength and represents an attempt to break out of thediplomatic isolation imposed by the United States. For China,it provides similar benefits - a stake in a major source of oil(although Iran provides a tiny fraction of China's overall oilimports), a large foreign market for Chinese goods (althoughone that requires a lot of investment), and both real andsymbolic progress toward the realization of the Belt and RoadInitiative and the expansion of China's global reach.From the perspective of the Iranian people, things lookvery different. Questions of "selling Iran" aside, closerrelations with China remain unpopular with many segmentsof the Iranian population, who often object to the flood ofcheap, low-quality Chinese goods, which wreak havoc on thelocal economy and cause a "race to the bottom." Some do notconsider China a stable partner, pointing to the fact that ithas pulled out of many deals with Iran in the past. Ratherthan asking if the agreement is mutually beneficial to Chinaand Iran, it would be better to consider a different version ofthat question: "Who in Iran and China does it benefit?"Reports in the Iranian media have reflected this hesitation.The official Fars News agency described the agreement as"somewhat ambiguous, and on the other hand, in somecases, Iran has had bitter experiences in dealing with othercountries. It has pros and cons." The report discusses generalplans for cooperation between banks and infrastructureprojects related to the "New Silk Road" and the Belt andRoad Initiative, but acknowledges the agreement is a"roadmap." Discussing technology transfer, it urges that "ifIran wants to make progress… it should not wait for the otherside" and needs to develop "a long-term plan" beforeentering into specific agreements. Chinese investors are"encouraged" to invest in Iran's various free economic zones,such as Maku along the Turkish border, Qeshm island in theStrait of Hormuz, and the strategic Arvand Free Zone nearthat Shatt al-Arab.The Huawei factor in US-India relationsChinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Japanese Foreign Minister MotegiToshimitsu meet the pressin Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 29, 2020.Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of JapanIs the China-Japan thaw over?Shannon TiezziAhead of Japanese Prime MinisterSuga Yoshihide's first trip toWashington, D.C. - and after aninaugural 2+2 meeting with Bidenadministration officials in Tokyo -China's Foreign Minister Wang Yiwarned his Japanese counterpart not tobe "misled by some countries holdingbiased view against China.""The two sides should cherish andsafeguard the hard-won overallsituation of improvement anddevelopment of China-Japanrelations… and ensure that bilateralrelations do not flip-flop, stagnate orbackpedal, and do not get involved inthe so-called confrontation betweenmajor countries.," Wang told JapaneseForeign Minister MotegiToshimitsu ina phone call on April 5, according to aread-out from China's ForeignMinistry.The call between Wang and Motegiwas aimed at calibrating China-Japanrelations in the midst of early outreachfrom the Biden administration in theUnited States. Beijing was alarmed byunusually stern language regardingChina during foreign and defenseminister talks in Tokyo in March, andwants to warn Japan against similarsignaling during Suga's visit to theUnited States, starting on April 16.After a Japan-U.S. 2+2 meeting inTokyo on March 16, the two countries'foreign and defense minsters issued ajoint statement that "acknowledgedthat China's behavior, whereinconsistent with the existinginternational order, presents political,economic, military, and technologicalchallenges to the Alliance and to theinternational community." The secondparagraph of the statement wasessentially a list of shared concernsabout Chinese behavior, from "China'sunlawful maritime claims and activitiesin the South China Sea" to the need for"peace and stability in the TaiwanStrait" to human rights concerns inXinjiang and Hong Kong.As Yuki Tatsumi commented in ananalysis for The Diplomat Magazine,"the degree of specificity with which thejoint statement lays out the twocountries' concerns vis-à-vis China isunprecedented." The inclusion of areference to the Taiwan Strait in thestatement was a particularly notablefirst, given Japan's reluctance tomention Taiwan in the past."We urge the United States andJapan to immediately stop interferingin China's internal affairs, stop formingthe anti-China clique, and stopundermining regional peace andstability," Zhao added.Wang's phone call, while morediplomatic in tone, conveyed a similarmessage: Beijing is unhappy withTokyo's new forward-leaning stance, inconcert with the United States. "Chinahopes that Japan, as an independentcountry, will look at China'sdevelopment in an objective andrational way, instead of being misled bysome countries holding biased viewagainst China," Wang said. Heacknowledged Japan's alliance with theUnited States, but pointed out that"China and Japan have also signed theJapan-China Treaty of Peace andFriendship, so Japan also has theobligation to fulfill the treaty."For his part, Motegi repeated theJapanese insistence that "the Japan-U.S. alliance does not target anyspecific third party." He continued:"Japan attaches great importance to itsrelations with China and remainscommitted to ensuring the steadydevelopment of Japan-Chinarelations."At stake is a fragile thaw in China-Japan relations that began underformer Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.China-Japan relations were in a deepfreeze throughout much of Abe's nearlyeight-year stint at prime minister,thanks to his flirtation with historicalrevisionism (including a controversialvisit to Yasukuni Shrine in 2013). Yeteven while Abe became a champion ofthe resurrected Quad and the Trans-Pacific Partnership - both seen inBeijing as "anti-China" - hesimultaneously managed a tentativewarming in relations with Beijing.ArindrajitBasuUncertainty and speculation onHuawei's future role in India continues,with journalists and punditsattempting to predict the government'sdecisions on future engagement withthe Chinese telecommunications giant.Major business relief for the firm cameon March 6 when mobile carrier BhartiAirtel awarded Huawei a telecominfrastructure contract worth $41.12million to expand its National LongDistance Network (NLD), which ispresently run by Huawei. However, justfive days later, on March 11, a mediareport quoted two anonymousgovernment officials claiming that thecenter is likely to block mobile carriersin the country from using telecomequipment made by Huawei amidstsecurity fears.Huawei, which was forced to lay off amajority of its local staff in July 2020due to sidelining by the Indiangovernment, remains resolute in its bidto remain in the Indian market.Speaking with the Business Standardon January 16, Huawei India CEODavid Li made it clear that "Wheneverthere's a chance, we make our pointthat we have a good record and wecreate value… Also, we are here as a bigcontributor and are fully compliant."He further stressed that while the roadmap of the 5G auction is uncertain, theywill continue to engage withstakeholders.Since the breakdown in Sino-Indianrelations following the Galwan Valleyborder clashes in June 2020, Chinesetechnological presence andinvestments in India have been facingthe heat. A slew of restrictions onChinese tech including the banning ofseveral Chinese apps and a press noteplacing cumbersome restrictions onforeign direct investment in India(indirectly aimed at China) give theimpression that Huawei's inroads intoIndia may be faltering at the hands ofregulatory intervention, even thoughIndia is yet to articulate a clear officialstance on the company's future.All the while, there are many openquestions about how the Bidenadministration in the United States willmaintain or alter the Trumpadministration's decisions on Huaweiand on Chinese technology writ large,from entity list export controls tobroader diplomatic engagement on thesecurity risks of Chinese technologyand Beijing's influence over theChinese tech sector.The two countries' decisions aroundHuawei thus have implications not justfor the future of Sino-Indian relationsor U.S.-China relations, but forrelations between India and the UnitedStates as well. Huawei first enteredIndia as far back as 1999 when it set upa research and development (R&D)center in Bangalore focusing ontelecom hardware. This remains itslargest overseas R&D center. Sincethen, it has made inroads both into theretail market segment, where it sellsconsumer goods like smartphones, andinto the telecom segment sellingequipment and software to networkcarriers. While Huawei could easily bereplaced in the consumer segment (forexample, Huawei only has a 2.5 percentshare of the mobile phone marketacross India), shunting Huawei out ofthe telecom segment throws up morecomplexities.Several major network carriers relyon Huawei for 4G network equipment,including Bharti Airtel and VodafoneIdea, which together hold just under a55 percent share in the wireless telecommarket in India.Despite oscillations around Huawei'sinclusion in the 5G sector, Bharti Airtelwent ahead with India's first 5Gnetwork trial using Huawei equipmentin 2018. Vodafone Idea also announceda partnership with Huawei, ZTE,Ericsson, and Nokia for its 5G trials.Experts believe that Huawei's inroadsinto the market have been madethrough deft negotiations - low pricesand long-term repayment schemescombined with a challenging phase inthe market for Airtel and Vodafonet.Mukesh Ambani (India's richest man),who owns telecom giant Reliance Jio,has provided tough competition to boththese players. This is the same manwho proudly claimed in a February2020 meeting with former U.S.President Donald Trump that Relianceuses no Chinese equipment - a stancethat had been robustly endorsed bythen-U.S. Secretary of State MikePompeo.Vodafone Idea posted a loss ofaround $600 million for the October-December 2020 quarter, while BhartiAirtel was able to post a consolidatednet profit for the quarter only due to aone-time gain after the merger of asubsidiary Bharti Infratel Ltd. withIndus Towers. Further, both thesegiants have huge outstanding dues tothe government, which increases thenecessity for financial thrift. Analystsbelieve that any ban on Chinesevendors, including Huawei and ZTE,could push up procurement costs by 15-20 percent as the Europeanalternatives, Ericsson and Nokia, aremore expensive and have limited gearavailability in India.Huawei equipment is also consideredsuperior to that of its Europeancounterparts by industry players.Speaking at the World EconomicForum in 2019, Bharti Enterprise(Airtel) Chairman Sunil Mittal wasquick to dismiss the notion that 5Gshould be politicized, and further statedthat "[Huawei's] products in 3G and 4Gare significantly superior to Ericssonand Nokia. I use all three of them."It is no surprise, therefore, that theCellular Operators Association of India(COAI) - which counts Airtel andVodafone as its members - have comeout in support of Huawei many times.In December 2018, after the TelecomEquipment and Services ExportPromotion Council argued for a ban onthe grounds of national security, COAIsent a letter to the Department ofTelecommunication (DoT) arguing thatHuawei was "suitably equipped" toA man walks past a billboard advertising Chinese technology firmHuawei.Photo: Mark Schiefelbeinbuild 5G capabilities in the ecosystemand comply with governmentrequirements. In December 2020,there was another letter to the DoTasking for country-of-origin basedrestrictions and import duty to bewaived for equipment vendors,indicating that the department wantsChinese vendors, including Huaweiand ZTE, to be a part of India's.
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