To bypass China, India should try a 'costless trick'

The time has come for New Delhi to strengthen itself by focusing on trade with its South Asian neighbours and to diversify its commerce beyond China.

Published Wed, Jul 15, 2020 · 09:50 PM

India

INDIA'S economic policy elite has been oscillating in its recommendations of doing business with China, from denying Chinese companies the big-ticket contracts to avoiding a trade boycott, which would hurt India more. There is a third option that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be well advised to consider: for New Delhi to strengthen itself by focusing more on trade with South Asia and to diversify its commerce beyond China.

This point was made effectively by Sanjay Kathuria, a senior visiting fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi and former lead economist at the Worl…