Crossing the Himalayas Buddhist Ties, Regional Integration and Great-Power Rivalry

Nian Peng is the Deputy Director&Associate Fellow of Research Centre for Maritime Silk Road, National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCS), China. He holds a PhD in Government and International Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. His main research interests are in the areas of China-Southeast/South Asia relations, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), maritime security of the Indo-Pacific. He authored three books- The Reshaping of China-Southeast Asia Relations in Light of the Covid-19 Pandemic (2021), International Pressures, Strategic Preference, and Myanmar’s China Policy since 1988 (2020), Leng Zhan Hou Yin Mian Guan Xi Yan Jiu [A Study on Indo-Myanmar Relations after the Cold-War] (2017). His refereed articles have been notably published in Pacific Focus , Asian Affairs , Dong Nan Ya Yan Jiu [Southeast Asian Studies], Nan Ya Yan Jiu [South Asian Studies] , Nan Ya Yan Jiu Ji Kan [South Asian Studies Quarterly] . He also contributes his perspectives to many think tanks and various local and international media outlets such as Asia Centre in France, Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) in India, East Asian Forum in Australia, The Diplomat in the US, Bangkok Post in Thailand, Lian He Zao Bao in Singapore, South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, CGTN and Global Times in China. Email: jixi2212@163.com.

Ghulam Ali is Associate Professor at School of Marxism, Department of Political Science,Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong, China. He obtained his PhD in History and Politics from Monash University, Australia, and his postdoc from Peking University. He is the author of China–Pakistan Relations: A Historical Analysis (2017) and Perspectives on Contemporary Pakistan Governance, Development and Environment (2020). His articles have published in The Pacific Review , Pacific Focus and Issues&Studies among others. He was a Hanban Fellow, Peking University, a Taiwan Fellow at the Institute of International Relations, National Chengchi University (2011),Lee Hysan Visiting Scholar at the University Services Center, Chinese University of Hong Kong (2008), and Contemporary China Fellow at the National Tsing Hua University (2006–2007). Email: ghulamali@yahoo.com.

Yi Zhang is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Taoism and Religious Culture, Sichuan University, China. Her main research areas are Chinese philosophy, Chinese tea culture,and Buddhist culture. Her recent publication is Lao Zhuang Zhe Xue Dui Xian Dai Cha Yi De Duo Chong Ying Xiang [The Multiple Influences of Laozhuang Philosophy on Modern Tea Art] (2020). Email: zjqdzh123@yeah.net.