Will India attend the New Silk Road Summit?

China will host its “biggest diplomatic event of the year” next month with its friends and allies involved in the “One Belt, One Road” — aka the “New Silk Road” — initiative, Reuters reports. The South China Morning Post says that 28 heads of state mostly from Asia will come to Beijing for a summit on May 14-15 and notes the lack of major Western powers, though Reuters points out a more glaring blank spot on the list: India. The Times of India reports that “China is keen to persuade India to participate” in the New Silk Road Summit, and has already toned down its criticism of India for allowing the Dalai Lama to speak in the country earlier this month. Indian officials, however, reportedly insist they won’t participate in China’s summit “until China agrees to make a clear statement that it does not support Pakistan’s claim” to Kashmir, a disputed territory partially administered by both Pakistan and India that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through.

China business and political leaders are going to great lengths to promote the idea of a New Silk Road, sponsoring events ranging from massive multilateral summits to a Silk Road–themed photo exhibit in Atlanta. Within China, too, the government is connecting old trade routes and promising that economic rejuvenation will flow from the coastal areas to the center of Asia and beyond. Likely not helping China’s case to persuade India to join the action are new propaganda videos (in Chinese) from Chinese state-run media celebrating China’s friendship and economic cooperation with Pakistan, India’s primary geopolitical rival.

• China’s top corruption drama battles piracy / Caixin
  A story about China’s public prosecutors who dredge up a series of scandals as they investigate shady land deals, organized crime, and SEO reforms, In the Name of the People, “a glossy Chinese television drama, inspired by the country’s ongoing anti-graft campaign…became an instant hit when it debuted on March 28 and has become one of the most-watched TV programs in Chinese history. Yet the entire 55-episode series, seen as groundbreaking for its lifesize portrayal of Chinese politics, was leaked on video-sharing sites and cloud storage services last week.”
• Chinese asylum seeker detained in Taiwan / SCMP
  “Mainland civil rights activist Zhang Xiangzhong was apprehended on Monday evening after he slipped away from his tour group.”
• Fish Farmer From ‘Cancer Village’ Seeks Landmark Ruling Over Dead Daughter / Caixin
• China’s man on North Korea crisis cools heels in Beijing / Reuters
• In Indonesia, labor friction and politics fan anti-Chinese sentiment / Reuters
• 3 confirmed dead in NW China landslide – in Shaanxi Province / China Daily
• Four people under probe for substandard subway cables – in Xi’an / China Daily