Trade, export controls and investment issues will also be high on the agenda.
Since 2014, India and China have doubled bilateral trade, from $70 billion to about $150 billion last year. However India’s trade deficit with China has trebled, from $38 billion to $113 billion in the same period. In addition, China’s recent on-again, off-again export bans on critical minerals and heavy infrastructure equipment. Despite India’s decision to ease security restrictions on Chinese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that were introduced in 2020, Beijing has been raising what it sees as discriminatory treatment of its businesses in India.
“A strategic dialogue would be welcome, provided it addresses reciprocity: on India’s trade imbalance, market access for Indian companies, investment and visa restrictions, and transboundary river data. The meeting cannot be sold as a reset, but it could provide a framework for competitive coexistence that manages differences candidly with a steadying hand while increasing the tally of convergent interests,” Ms. Menon Rao said.