It seems that the Indian stand of boycotting China is going up for a toss with the increasing trade between the two. First the virus and now the vaccine, China has used the pandemic to its advantage to further expand its economy. India being the third largest economy in Asia right after Japan and China, the restrictions in trade and investment by India against China in 2020, had been predicted to create unrest in the global market. However, the scenario looks quite different today where India is seen increasing its trade with the Red Dragon. Even India’s earlier shot to fame with the Covid vaccines and its export, has been whitewashed after the country was devastated itself by the second wave. The non-Indian vaccines, Chinese in particular, also have got more efficacy than the Indian counterparts. In a sense, India has been entrapped by China by leaving it with no other option than to step up import and investment from its giant neighbour.
After the trade restrictions in 2020 post the border turmoil between the two nations, 2021 surprisingly saw even greater trading between the two nations. India is one of the largest importers from China in the world. Chinese foreign direct investment (FDIs) and portfolio investment (FPIs) in India are increasing and China might well emerge as India’s biggest trading partner by the end of 2021. However, China rarely is seen encouraging import or tourism from India. Chinese media claims that 2021 has been a year of spectacular growth for trade with India despite the border conflicts and political differences between the two nations. Notably, trade between China and India grew by 70.1 percent in the first five months of 2021. Chinese exports to India grew 64.1 percent year-on-year from January to May.  The report added that the India-China trade volume was higher than the trade that Beijing conducted with any other trading partners, during the same time.
Interestingly, while the world economy grasps for air, China seems to be having a field day. Its GDP jumped a record 18.3 percent in the first quarter of 2021 reaching about $3.82 trillion in Q1, stated China’s National Bureau of Statistics. China has been rapidly expanding its equity stakes in Indian start-ups and other technology companies which raise a major concern over the protection of intellectual property rights, data privacy and national security. For instance, Paytm which handles daily financial transactions of millions of Indians but its single largest shareholder is Chinese private investor Alibaba. Many other such Indian start-ups are functioning at the generous funding of Chinese investments and it is almost impossible for India to totally cut off trade ties with China despite their differences. With policy failures of the Indian government and pandemic induced economic fall-out, rising unemployment; India is in no position to stop its growing trade with China for it would mean economic disaster for the country. All in all, the tall claim of being ‘Atma Nirbhar’ is gradually turning to ‘China Nirbhar’ and there is nothing that can be done about it.