Main content

Chinese Dreams: India

Episode 5 of 5

Many Indians love Chinese goods, but China is not as keen on what India makes. With a trade deficit between the countries at historic levels, where is the relationship heading?

India and China have a complex and troubled modern history – including a fully-fledged war in 1962. Today Indian consumers seem to love all things Chinese, from the cheap plastic toys to smartphones and apps like Tik Tok. Some Indians think this success is a result of unfair trade. They think that Chinese imports are taking advantage of the relatively open Indian economy, while Indian companies are prevented from getting a foothold in China. This creates a huge trade imbalance between the two Asian giants. These flames are fanned by Indian perceptions of Chinese support for both Pakistan and Kashmiri ‘separatists’. An affiliate of the governing BJP party has called on consumers to boycott Chinese goods. And India has refused to sign a regional economic trade agreement to prevent China using it as a backdoor to the Indian market. Shabnam Grewal, a British ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ journalist of Indian descent, investigates the complex feelings that Indians have towards their increasingly rich and powerful neighbour – a combination of admiration, envy and even anger.

Producer: Shabnam Grewal
Editor: Hugh Levinson

(Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Credit: Kenzaburo Fukuhara/AFP/Getty Images)

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 26 Jan 2020 10:06GMT

More episodes

Next

You are at the last episode

See all episodes from The Compass

Broadcasts

  • Wed 22 Jan 2020 02:32GMT
  • Wed 22 Jan 2020 03:32GMT
  • Wed 22 Jan 2020 04:32GMT
  • Wed 22 Jan 2020 05:32GMT
  • Wed 22 Jan 2020 13:32GMT
  • Wed 22 Jan 2020 18:06GMT
  • Wed 22 Jan 2020 21:06GMT
  • Wed 22 Jan 2020 23:06GMT
  • Sat 25 Jan 2020 17:32GMT
  • Sun 26 Jan 2020 10:06GMT

The Documentary Podcast

The Documentary Podcast

Hear more documentaries from the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service

Podcast