South Asia

India-China border conflict has had a direct impact on trade. Recently, India identified several Chinese companies including Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei, Xindia Steels Ltd. which it considers are linked with the Chinese army and now may face action by the Indian government.

China and India were recently engaged in a bitter border conflict in Galwan Valley, near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. To India’s astonishment, Beijing has reportedly claimed the entire Galwan Valley, which even exceeds the Chinese territorial claims of 1962.

In Pakistan, TikTok has been downloaded almost 39 million times and is the third-most downloaded app over the past year after WhatsApp and Facebook, according to Sensor Tower.

The top minister said that the trade deficit of countries part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) -- a free trade agreement in the Indo-Pacific region that India quit last November -- has nearly doubled over the past 15 years, while their manufacturing levels also remain abysmally low.

Indian and Chinese tanks are almost positioned face to face in Eastern Ladakh. The procurement of these lightweight tanks is critical for India because unlike China, India doesn’t have an elaborate road network along the border and heavy tanks like T-90 are difficult to transport and manage at high altitude regions.