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India weighs deeper economic engagement with China ahead of BRICS
Bilateral trade rose to $151.1 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, with China remaining India’s largest import source and top trading partner.
India is showing signs of warming ties with China as it prepares for an upcoming BRICS summit, while still maintaining ambivalence about deeper economic engagement. The latest sequence includes meetings involving India’s external affairs minister and foreign secretary, along with an adviser-level visit to Beijing focused on border talks, according to the SCMP Economy.
SCMP Economy reports that India is seeking Chinese capital, technology, and expertise, but worries about potential economic shocks. External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said India’s long-term objective was to compete with China in manufacturing, framing the push for engagement as part of industrial upgrading.
On the economic side, the outlet says bilateral trade rose to $151.1 billion in the financial year ended March 31. It also notes that China remains India’s largest import source, and that after four years it displaced the United States as India’s top trading partner.
SCMP Economy adds that India’s approach has shifted over time, moving from initially welcoming Chinese participation to containment after 2020, and more recently to what it describes as a calibrated reopening.