Bikky Khosla | 16 Apr, 2025
It comes as good news at the right time that China has welcomed over 85,000 Indian visitors in just three months, easing visa rules in what I believe is not just a travel gesture, but a quiet invitation, an opening which both nations should seriously consider embracing.
For far too long, India and China have allowed political tension to overshadow economic opportunity. I don’t deny the complexities of our relationship. Border disputes, trust deficits, and strategic rivalries are real and serious. But in today’s rapidly shifting global order, especially with the United States ramping up tariffs and the impending trade war, we need to ask ourselves a hard question on whether we can afford to keep ignoring each other economically?
I for one strongly feel that the answer is no.
Let’s be honest, China is not going anywhere. It remains the world’s largest manufacturing hub, and despite Western narratives of its slowdown, its scale and efficiency are still unmatched. On the other hand, India is the rising star of consumption and growth, with a massive young population and an increasingly sophisticated market. What we lack in infrastructure and industrial scale, China can offer. What China lacks in domestic demand growth and external political trust, India can provide.
So, why aren’t we doing more to trade directly, invest jointly, and build mutual economic dependence that can withstand diplomatic ups and downs? I think that if exporters and importers from both nations were empowered to work together with fewer restrictions, we can definitely unlock massive value. Indian pharmaceutical companies can scale in the Chinese market , while Chinese electronics suppliers can set up components hubs in India, making our manufacturing sector more competitive. Yet again, Indian agricultural goods can find new life in China’s growing middle class. The list goes on.
Especially now, as the US doubles down on tariffs, our best move is to look sideways, which is toward each other. We can’t keep treating trade as a byproduct of politics. It has to become the driver. Building trust through business can create a stabilizing force that no diplomatic summit ever could.
This visa move from China may seem like a small step, but to me, it’s a signal. It’s a knock on the door. It’s time we answered.
