
India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's recent remarks on economic cooperation with China have been welcomed by Chinese state media. Speaking at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum, Jaishankar said India must…
India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's recent remarks on economic cooperation with China have been welcomed by Chinese state media. Speaking at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum, Jaishankar said India must do business with the entire world, including China, and that engagement should be driven by the need to modernise the Indian economy and strengthen domestic capabilities.

The Global Times, in an article by a reporter, said Jaishankar's message reflects a more practical view in India of how economic engagement with China could contribute to manufacturing sector development. It noted that bilateral trade reached $155.6 billion in 2025, with Indian exports to China rising 9.7 percent year-on-year. The article argued that Chinese industrial inputs, including raw materials and components, support India's manufacturing ecosystem.
The commentary called for more specific measures to facilitate bilateral trade, investment and industrial cooperation, suggesting that deeper economic engagement could help India develop a complete value chain and position itself as a trusted centre of global supply chains.
The editorial stance here is instructive but not surprising: Beijing has long framed economic ties with India as mutually beneficial, even as political and military tensions persist along the Line of Actual Control. The $155.6 billion trade figure cited is heavily skewed in China's favour, a point the commentary does not dwell on. For Indian policymakers, the tension is between leveraging Chinese capital and components for domestic manufacturing goals under schemes like Production Linked Incentives, and managing strategic concerns about dependency and security clearance delays for Chinese investment. The next signal to watch is whether India's commerce ministry issues any fresh visa or investment facilitation measures for Chinese technicians and firms ahead of the next bilateral trade review.
Source: globaltimes.cn
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.