THE CHINA SYNDROME
THE WIDE GULF
Bridging the trade deficit with China—close to $55 billion—will not be easy given the heavy reliance of Indian businesses on Chinese goods
KEY PARTNER COUNTRIES FOR IMPORTS
While China is key to India’s imports, it’s clearly not the case for the former
UNDER THE DRAGON’S SHADOW
India depends heavily on China for power tools and heavy engineering equipment, but for end consumers, it is auto parts, solar panels, electronics, toys and clothing that have a better China recall
KEY PARTNER COUNTRIES FOR EXPORTS
India is dwarfed by China in the global exports sweepstakes, but ranks seventh among China’s key export destinations
This has made India’s choices even starker. As a top Indian official dealing with the situation put it, “Blood has been spilt, soldiers have lost their lives. China now has to decide to pull back or it may lead to another friction point that is not desirable for both countries. There are only two ways to go now—either into conflict or resolution. China has to make up its mind.” But with the PLA reportedly also suffering an undisclosed number of casualties, Chinese president Xi Jinping cannot easily pull back without loss of face and a massive dent to the supreme leader image he has assiduously built up in the past decade. The corps commanders of the two armies in the Ladakh area, where the worst fracas had taken place, have met several times, but the situation seems far from resolved.
Modi now has to deal with possibly the worst confrontation with
