The dashboard is part of ORCA’s India-China Trade Project. Synopsis: The India-China Trade dashboard- Annual is a comprehensive visualisation of yearly merchandise trade between the two economies. It captures India’s imports and exports to China between 2011-12 to 2021-22 based on the Harmonised System (HS Codes).

A cursory read over Chinese media coverage of elections to be held across democracies in 2024, presents a glaring picture of how significant the year is set to be for Beijing’s foreign policy. With over fifty countries expected to undergo elections this year, media houses and foreign policy analysts in China have specifically drawn caution against political changes and even constants that can potentially re-orient their foreign policies towards Beijing. With emphasis on Indian general elections, the opinions and perspectives expressed by different India watchers in China presents an uneven mix of being both perceptive and propagandic; with the latter finding more coverage space than the former.

In the past few years, bullish visions of China’s regional aspirations have dissipated as its own domestic economic realities have become clear. There has been a significant fall in China’s development spending in the Pacific since 2016. Observers have noted that this is linked to a decrease in Chinese loans across the region, although this has also been a global phenomenon. Expectations around the BRI in the Pacific have also been tempered as various projects have stalled with commentators observing that “half-finished Chinese skyscrapers stand in disrepair” in various Pacific Island countries.

China has promoted the participation of ethnic minorities in Party and State politics by co-opting elites from ethnic minorities across various provinces. Managing the political participation of minority groups is increasingly important for social stability in China as well as China’s international image.