Documenting China’s Borderlands – Episode 5: The Himalayan Rim

About this episode

This episode explores China's growing influence in the Himalayan region and its implications for South Asia.

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Five: The Himalayan Rim China’s growing economic and political power is redrawing the map of South Asia as a cluster of countries centered around its Himalayan borderlands, connecting its land neighbors through infrastructure building and economic corridors, while redefining the region’s governance norms according to the so-called "Chinese model." This fifth episode, recorded in New Delhi with Professor Jabin T. Jacob (Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence, India), Shruti Jargad (Australian Strategic Policy Institute), and Dr. Constantino Xavier (Center for Social and Economic Progress, India) takes a look at the many facets of China’s increased presence in the Himalayan region. Materials cited or referenced in the recording Constantino Xavier and Jabin T. Jacob (Eds.) “How China Engages in South Asia: In the Open and Behind the Scenes,” CSEP Report, July 2025. Constantino Xavier and Jabin T. Jacob (Eds.) “How China Engages in South Asia: Themes, Partners and Tools,” CSEP…

People in this episode

Host: Nadège Rolland

Guests: Jabin T. Jacob, Shruti Jargad, Constantino Xavier

Topics covered

• China's borderlands
• Himalayan Rim
• South Asia
• geostrategic significance
• infrastructure building
• economic corridors

Keywords

• China
• political power
• governance norms
• Chinese model

Mentioned in this episode

Products: CSEP Report, CSEP Working Paper

Books & works: Documenting China’s Borderlands, How China Engages in South Asia: In the Open, How China Engages in South Asia: Themes, Partners and Tools, Semantics as Strategy: Interpreting China’s Official Discourse on South Asia

Places: China, South Asia, Himalayan, New Delhi, India, PRC

More episodes of Asia Insight

• Next in Line: Sri Lanka’s Rising Leaders and Foreign Policy · May 30, 2026 · 37 min
• Documenting China’s Borderlands – Episode 8: Arteries of Power · May 20, 2026 · 35 min
• Next in Line: Indonesia’s Rising Leaders and Foreign Policy · April 30, 2026 · 28 min
• From Competing to Racing: How 2025 Reshaped U.S.–China Relations · April 20, 2026 · 36 min
• Next in Line: India’s Rising Leaders and Foreign Policy · March 30, 2026 · 33 min
• Trailer: Next in Line: Rising Leaders and Foreign Policy in South and Southeast Asia · March 20, 2026 · 1 min