India's Biggest Trade Partner Is China. Now what?
From The Morning Brief by The Economic Times
May 7, 2026 · 18 min · Episode 950
About this episode
The episode discusses the implications of China surpassing the US as India's largest trading partner and the resulting economic challenges and strategies for India.
China just surpassed the US as India's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting $151 billion and a trade deficit that has ballooned to an all-time high of $112 billion. Beijing has also rolled out sweeping new supply chain rules that could penalise companies moving manufacturing out. So what does this mean for India? John Quelch, American President, Executive Vice Chancellor and Distinguished Professor of Social Science, Duke Kunshan University argues the deficit isn't the real story. China plays a long, calculated game — on tariffs, on technology, on geopolitics. India needs to learn to read that game, not react to it. From the Trump-Xi summit to robots, rare earths, and the untapped potential of two ancient civilisations — this conversation reframes everything Listen in: You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin Check out other interesting episodes like: How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026? , How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z , Two Women Fought to Change India's Maternity Laws...and Succeeded , Can India Truly End Naxalism? , Semaglutide Goes Generic: Big Pharma’s Moat Breaks and much…
People in this episode
Host: Anirban Chowdhury
Guest: John Quelch
Topics covered
- trade relations
- China-India relations
- economic impact
- supply chain
- geopolitics
Keywords
- trade deficit
- bilateral trade
- manufacturing
- tariffs
- technology
- geopolitics
- supply chain rules
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Duke Kunshan University
Places: China, India, US
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