How Long Will the India-China Diplomatic Rekindle Last?

When the American President Donald Trump launched his trade war, both India and China were in his sights. Trump’s officials maintained America was a victim of “unfair trade practices” and thus slapped a barrage of tariffs on steel, aluminium, and a variety of manufactured goods emanating out of India and China. Although Beijing was primary target, India lost duty-free trade privileges under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in 2019.

This wave of protectionism did not only harm bilateral relations with Washington but recalibrate Asian diplomatic alignments. For two nations long divided by border tensions, China and India, Trump’s tariffs were an unlikely common menace. With American markets getting harder to breach, both nations were forced to think about Asian collaboration again and paved the way to a fragile diplomatic rekindle.

Trump’s Tariffs and Double Blow

References

• BBC News. “Trump imposes tariffs on India, China.” (2019)
• Brookings Institution. “Trade war dynamics and Asia’s response” (2020)
• USTR. “Termination of India’s GSP designation.” (2019)
• CFR. “Timeline: U.S.-China Trade War.” (2021)
• Al Jazeera. “India-China border tensions explained.” (2020)
• Carnegie India. “India-China Relations: Between Competition and Cooperation.” (2022)
• The Diplomat. “India-China trade after tariffs.” (2021)
• Brookings. “India-China energy cooperation.” (2019)
• ORF. “The Wuhan and Chennai Summits: Modi-Xi Diplomacy.” (2019)
• Chatham House. “BRICS and multipolarity.” (2023)
• Reuters. “India-China trade hits record despite tensions.” (2024)
• Brookings. “The Quad and India’s China strategy.” (2022)
• BBC. “India-China border standoff latest.” (2023)
• Pew Research Center. “India’s views of China.” (2023)
• Carnegie India (Shivshankar Menon). “On India-China Cooperation.” (2021)
• The Diplomat. “China’s vision for India relations”

All the views and opinions expressed are those of the author. Image Credit: Narendra Modi Website.

About the Author

Jaiee Ashtekar holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in political science from the University of Mumbai. She holds a post-graduate diploma in international relations from the University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom (UK). She has done projects titled “Kashmir through Political Perception” and “Water issues between India and Pakistan.”