China’s Minzu University is offering the country’s first master’s degree in Yoga, in what appears to be a clear signal that soft power is being deployed to reactivate China-India ties in the aftermath of the tense Doklam standoff.

The China Youth Daily, an official newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has reported that the University, located in Kunming, has started accepting applications for China’s first master’s degree course in yoga.

The programme is being sponsored by the China-India Yoga College at the University, and India’s Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana. The degree programme was approved by China’s Ministry of Education in January 2017.

The three-year course includes two years in China and a final year in India. Classes will cover lessons on yoga asanas, yoga physiology, yoga anatomy, yoga therapy as well as meridian theory. The curriculum includes courses in Hindi and Sanskrit.

A highly placed source told The Hindu that with the Doklam crisis abating, a number of commercial and cultural events that had gone dormant are now being reactivated. “Though there was no disruption in the activities related to the BRICS summit in Xiamen, the Doklam crisis did impact some of the events at the provincial level,” the source observed. For instance, an Indian delegation was unable to participate in the Sichuan international trade fair and expo in September, despite preparations being made in advance.

Sailas Thangal, India’s Consul-General in Guangzhou told The Hindu that a major yoga conference will be held in Sanya, a coastal city along the South China Sea, on October 25.

He added that a number of tertiary India-China engagements are on the anvil.

The viral videos of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman greeting Chinese troops during her recent visit to the India-China border in Sikkim appear to have generated a measure of goodwill. In an editorial titled, ‘Sitharaman Greeting sends warm signal,’ the normally hawkish Global Times observed that the Minister’s gesture to the Chinese soldiers “conveys her hope for peace on the Sino-Indian border and unwillingness to see a new standoff.”

‘Charm offensive’

It added, “China welcomes Sitharaman’s greeting and hopes this friendly gesture is also welcomed by Indians. Sitharaman’s charm offensive might help break the ice between Chinese and Indian public opinion.”

An official source pointed out that the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the BRICS summit last month held out the promise of a revival in China-India ties.