'China Has Not Weaponised Its Trade Leverage Against India'

India's trade deficit with China is around $100 billion, testimony to the vast range of goods imported by this country. Does that translate into critical or strategic dependence?

Amit Kumar, Research Analyst at the Takshashila Institution, appeared on The Gist on StratNewsGlobal with Surya Gangadharan and argued that none of the products India imports from China gives the latter a strategic stranglehold.

Speaking on The Gist, Kumar argued that what India buys from China can be bought from elsewhere albeit at a higher price. Curiously, China has not weaponised that trade leverage against India. Why it's not clear. But India has pushed ahead with measures designed to curb the import of Chinese goods, such as trusted sources for telecom equipment. Recently India banned the import of laptops and other devices made in China.