Hope grows for India-China economic ties amid Trump’s tariff threats

For years, the frosty aftermath of a flare-up at their disputed border defined relations between Asia’s two largest economies, but a recent thaw in China-India ties has reignited hopes of renewed economic cooperation – just as Donald Trump’s return to the White House threatens to upend global trade.

With the US president-elect vowing to impose tariffs of at least 60 per cent on imports from China and 20 per cent on all other nations, few are expected to escape his “America first” protectionism unscathed.

India is no exception. On the campaign trail, Trump labelled the South Asian nation “a very big abuser” of trade relations with the US, promising “reciprocal tariffs” against its heavily protected markets.

Last year, China edged out the United States as India’s top trade partner, but economic ties have been hamstrung since a deadly 2020 border clash that resulted in casualties on both sides. Direct flights have yet to resume post-pandemic, and the fallout from the incident brought intensified scrutiny of Chinese visa applications and investments in India.