China's trade challenge

Beijing's WTO move less about tariffs, more about India's rise as a manufacturing competitor

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CHINA'S RECENT DECISION to take India to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over its industrial policy marks a subtle but significant shift in the political economy of global manufacturing. For the first time, Beijing's actions suggest it sees India not merely as a vast consumption market, but also as a potential structural competitor in global production—particularly in electronics. Over the past few months, China has filed multiple disputes at the WTO challenging India's production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes and tariff regime. One case, initiated in October, targets incentives for electric vehicles, advanced chemistry cells, and auto components. Another, filed this month, questions India's tariffs on information and communication technology products and subsidies for solar photovoltaic manufacturing. Beijing has also revived a long-pending appeal against India's mobile phone import duties first imposed in 2018. Formally, the complaints hinge on alleged violations of tariff bindings and prohibitions on import-substitution subsidies. But the concentration on specific sectors-and the timing-point to a broader strategic