Tansen Sen is Professor of history at Baruch College, City University of New York, USA. Currently, he a Visiting Professor of Humanities and Global China and the Director of the Center for Global Asia at NYU-Shanghai, China. He is the author of Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations, 600-1400 (University of Hawai’i Press, 2003) and co-author (with Victor H. Mair) of Traditional China in Asian and World History (Association for Asian Studies, 2012). He has edited Buddhism Across Asia: Networks of Material, Cultural and Intellectual Exchange (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2014). He is completing a book manuscript entitled India, China, and the World: Networks of Exchange and Interactions.
This talk examined the complexities of contemporary India-China relations in the broader Asian context. It primarily focused on three aspects: the territorial and economic concerns in bilateral relations; the impact of cultural (mis)perceptions; and the contending regional and global aspirations of the two countries. The talk also attempted to outline the possible ways in which the relations between the two countries could improve, especially through mutual understanding and collaborations in the arenas of regional and global concerns.
