Trade Partner Or Adversary?

India must think beyond China-Plus-One strategy as the world trade order is rapidly changing

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CHINA IS REPORTEDLY imposing restrictions on exports of certain key industrial inputs and capital equipment to India, and commentators have warned against the potential adverse fallout of the move on some of India's sunrise sectors. Foxconn's iPhone unit in India, electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, etc. could face delays in component sourcing, as also Tata Electronics, which has manufacturing ties with Apple. The move by the world's largest trading nation, which is set to cross an incredible milestone of having a $1 trillion trade surplus with the rest of the world in 2024, exposes several fallacies and myths. Despite the rhetoric of New Delhi being restrictive and chary about imports from the bigger neighbour, not just its industry and consumers but even its manufacturing ambitions remain heavily dependent on imports from China. These inward shipments have been rising relentlessly, with no real policy impediments by India. In FY24 alone, China registered a merchandise trade surplus of $85 billion with India.