I have been quoted in this article on the presence of CCP members in various Chinese establishments in India. It has drawn reactions both from the Indian MEA as well as the Chinese Embassy in India. I'll come to those in a bit but first let me explain a few things in >er detail https://twitter.com/iyervaidy/status/1339424170334031874

than there was space for in the article. If my quote seems anodyne that's because as the Chinese would ask "什麼事兒這麼大驚小怪的?" or "what's the fuss all about?" This is no surprise to China professionals. Remember when news came out that Jack Ma of Alibaba was a CCP member?

Well, of course, he is. How do you think he got to where he is? And remember his precious IPO was stalled by the CCP just weeks ago? Can you think of any business the scale of Alibaba having that happen to them in any other country? That's shows you Ma's place in China.

Ultimately, he's answerable to the Party. In other words, there is no such thing as a "private" enterprise in China nor the "personal opinion" of a Chinese think-tanker or analyst in the public domain available to non-Chinese audiences. The Party calls the shots.

You can think what you like but you say what the Party tells you to say. That's why it is important to pay attention to the role of CCP members. The CCP is sth of an exclusive club. This is no "send an sms to join" bunch of bigots and hyper-nationalists though there are those too

CCP membership is a process drawn out over long years of vetting. Members have to a have a university degree, are extremely driven (often by personal interests) and have massive incentives for following and advancing the Party line. The Party recruits the best and the brightest

and it allows a great deal of discussion and criticism within its ranks, within its four walls. Party members also keep an eye on each other and report "deviants". A bit of 1984, yes but that's how the CCP both achieves brilliant successes and makes outrageous and costly mistakes

It can both devour itself and the country and self-correct. That's how the CCP stays in power. Of course, there's corruption and nepotism involved. The brilliant or honest ones can be sidelined, it requires a certain skill-set to get to the top -

this at least is nothing new for the Indian politician or ambitious govt servant.
That's the context to keep in mind when talking about the presence of CCP members in India. Remember the vast majority are essentially supervising each other and getting on with perfectly mundane

regular jobs. But China is now a rising, ambitious power with global interests and CCP members have a lot to do. So they will organise and agitate for Chinese/CCP interests abroad. Thus, it is you see Chinese investments directed to critical sectors like the tech space in India -

ergo banning Chinese apps and investments in India's tech or keeping Huawei out is the right decision.
Now before we go overboard, remember ALL political parties everywhere run "influence operations" - aren't most Indians part of a WhatsApp group where the otherwise friendly,

amiable neighbourhood uncle fwds all sorts of weird conspiracy theories about supposed anti-nationals? But what's so special about how the CCP goes about it?
Now, one could argue that the Chinese communists do this on an industrial scale -

for instance, about the origins of the coronavirus being outside China - but so do certain Indian political parties. The key difference is that the CCP carries out its propaganda on a global scale. And it is by far the most organised political entity on earth, in this respect

as well as the one with the most human and capital resources.
Indian diplomats and analysts have known this for a long time. It is very unlikely that a CCP member in the Shanghai consulate - and there's surely more than one - can have done any damage. The MEA is right to say

that its missions "ensure due security precautions". The damage usually is the result of carelessness at home in India, itself.
Now let's come to the Chinese statement today about "Indian media hyping 'CPC members infiltrating some Indian agencies'" http://in.china-embassy.org/eng/embassy_news/t1840974.htm

The Chinese response is well worth parsing in detail.
1. it's rather long and that in itself is interesting. There's extra effort made here to shift the narrative. The Chinese are extremely sensitive to prying into how things work internally at home

2. It accuses Indian media of "ideological prejudice" - as good a sign as any that the CCP itself looks at things from an ideological prism, ie, it is anti-democratic, seeing democratic dispensations everywhere as a threat to its domestic and external interests.

3. "The members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are not “monsters or scourges”" But who's saying this? No Indian report has ever said this. Signals worries that the CCP's reputation is under pressure here -wolf warrior diplomacy, Huawei, espionage, influence operations, etc

4. "absolutely ridiculous and wantonly smearing to maliciously label CPC members as 'espionage'". Some of the latest global investigations about China and accusations against it are probably hitting too close to target for the CCP's comfort.

Perhaps a sign that its diplomacy is not working? doubts about BRI's sustainability or high expectations of it are hurting?
5."Chinese working class, the Chinese people, and the Chinese nation" -desperation here. Chinese citizens running into rough weather abroad would look bad

for the CCP at home.
6. "The 92 million CPC members are outstanding people in all walks of life" - need to emphasise numbers/size and qualities - running into some rough weather on the economic front at home? and probably on treatment of Uyghurs/Tibetans abroad

7. "Hyping up the 'China Threat Theory'", "anti-China forces", 'McCarthyism' - tells the US looms large in the CCP imagination. Even in a criticism of the Indian media, the Chinese embassy in India cannot limit (or restrain) itself to the issue at hand but must attack the US.

For Indians, the key point? China refuses to believe India has agency of its own - any objections it might have even on the LAC is 'coz the US puts India up to it. Remember too, the old Chinese characterisation of Prime Minister Nehru as "the running-dog of British imperialism"

8. Last para's the clincher. "states should follow basic norms governing international relations and respect each other's system and national conditions" - this is to imply that China does so (it doesn't, of course).

"China... hopes the relevant media can... uphold an objective and just position in China related reports and stop irresponsible hype." - in other words, what barbarians are these that allow for a free press in this country?

Or how irresponsible of India and the Indian media to stand in the way of the Chinese dream and the great Chinese century?
That really is the big fear of the CCP- that it's avenues for propaganda and misinformation are closed off by vigilant, free media and democratic societies.