India Worries as China Builds Ports in South Asia

China’s efforts to beef up its South Asian trade by building ports in nations such as Pakistan and Bangladesh are irking India, which feels that its regional influence is being undermined. This is the latest trend in a history of strained relations between the two countries, who are now nonetheless linked by booming trade with one another. Over the last decade, however, China’s trade with South Asian nations has eclipsed India’s, in part because of India’s high tariffs and China’s willingness to fund development projects for its trade partners. Many of these nations also prefer to trade with China because China does not force the transparency and reform conditions part of any deal with India or the US. In response to China’s growing influence, India has begun to seek regional trade partners more aggressively, having just signed a free-trade deal with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. – YaleGlobal