Trade reached $100 billion on border tensions between India and China

Amidst the ups and downs in the relations between India and China, such news has come to the fore, which shows that the relations between the two countries are getting deeper in this region.

This year the bilateral trade between India and China has crossed a huge figure of 100 billion dollars but it is not much discussed on both sides. The reason is clear, since the military standoff in Eastern Ladakh, the relationship between the two countries is going through a very delicate phase.

According to the news agency PTI, this bilateral trade, which started from the US $ 1.83 billion in the year 2001, grew to $100 billion within 11 months of this year. This is a big opportunity for the business of both the countries because both the countries have improved the relations for their trade.

how much business

According to the data of the General Administration of Customs (GAC) of China, India-China bilateral trade has stood at $ 114.263 billion, which has increased by 46.4 percent between January and November 2021.

India's exports to China have increased to $ 26.358 billion, which has increased by 38.5 percent every year, and India's imports from China have increased to $ 87.905 billion, which has increased by 49 percent.

On the one hand, bilateral trade has crossed the $100 billion mark, while on the other hand, India's trade deficit has also increased rapidly during these 11 months. A trade deficit means that India has bought more goods from China than it has sold.

The trade deficit is a matter of great concern for India which has increased to 61.547 billion. It has increased by 53.49 percent this year.

Despite India's concern over the trade deficit, this record was recorded virtually. However, there is no celebration on this as the military standoff continues in eastern Ladakh, and due to this, the relations between the two countries are more sluggish than before.

Record trade questions and fragile relationships

Defense analyst Brahma Chelani has tweeted questioning this business growth.

In his tweet, Chelan has said, "How does the Modi government justify a 50% increase in trade with China in the year 2021 amid China's border encroachment, with a surplus of $ 61.5 billion between January and November in favor of China? Which is almost equal to the total defense expenditure of India in the current financial year.

On May 5 last year, a military standoff started between India and China, after which violent clashes broke out between the two in the Pangong Lake area and many soldiers of both countries were killed. Gradually, both the countries deployed several thousand soldiers and heavy weapons in their respective areas.

After several military and diplomatic talks, the two sides began retreating north and south of Pangong Lake in February this year and in the Gogra area in August.

Between July 31, the 12th round of talks between the two sides was held. After a few days, both the armies had completed their disengagement process in Gogra. It was considered very important towards the restoration of peace and restraint in the region.

Each side has deployed 50 to 60 thousand soldiers along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the mountainous region.

The biggest ray of hope in this conflict situation was the WMCC (Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination) under which the foreign ministers and top military commanders of both the countries kept in touch and controlled the tension.

The Ladakh standoff had brought all other relations to a standstill except trade.

opinion of both countries

In a panel discussion in Singapore in November this year, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had said that India and China were going through a "particularly bad part" in their relations as Beijing has violated agreements with several actions, for which it still has no "concrete answers".

In a clear reference to the Ladakh border standoff, he had said, "We are going through a particularly bad part in our relations because they have taken many actions that have violated the agreements and they still do not have a concrete answer and Indicates that there is some need to think about where they lead our relationship but it is for them to answer that."

The issue was also raised by Vikram Misri, former Ambassador of India to China. During his virtual farewell program on 6 December, before Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Misri had said that the challenges have led to the defeat of the great potential of India-China relations.

Referring to the Ladakh standoff, Misri told Wang, "Our relationship involves possibilities and challenges, and even last year there were some challenges that took hold of our prospects in the relationship.

In January 2019, Misri took over as the Ambassador of India. He got this responsibility when both the countries came out of the Doklam standoff of 2017 through diplomatic efforts.

The impasse came to an end after the first informal summit between PM Modi and the Chinese President in Wuhan in 2018 and the second summit in Chennai in 2019 followed a long-term development agenda. However, then the standoff in Eastern Ladakh started.

Before returning to New Delhi, Misri, in an informal interaction with the media, recalled how Modi and Jinping had expected and agreed to implement two important initiatives during the Chennai summit.