Jaishankar flags need for fair trade, supply chain reliability in meeting with Wang Yi
India's External Affairs Minister met the Chinese Foreign Minister on the sidelines of an ASEAN-centred ministerial gathering in Manila
The discussion covered fair market access, the bilateral trade balance, and the predictability of supply chains between the two countries
Border peace and tranquility was reiterated as a prerequisite for the normalization of overall bilateral relations
India acknowledged recent steps toward normalization, including the resumption of direct flights and religious pilgrimage arrangements between the two countries
Both sides noted continuing engagement on border-area peace since arrangements reached in October 2024
East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum — The Diplomatic Venue
The India-China meeting took place on the margins of the annual ASEAN-centred ministerial cycle, which brings India, China and other major powers into a shared regional forum distinct from any bilateral India-China mechanism.
Key Details
- The East Asia Summit (EAS), established in 2005, is a leaders-level forum of 19 countries — the 11 ASEAN states plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the US; India is a founding member
- The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), established in 1994, is the broader security-dialogue platform with 27 participants including China, India, the US and Russia
- Both forums operate on consensus and issue non-binding joint or chair's statements; they are confidence-building platforms rather than treaty-bound security alliances
- Participation in these forums is a pillar of India's Act East Policy (an upgrade of the earlier Look East Policy, renamed in 2014)
The Jaishankar-Wang Yi meeting is a sideline engagement within a multilateral Asian forum rather than a dedicated bilateral summit, reflecting how India-China ties are currently being managed through incremental contact across multiple platforms rather than a single high-level channel.
Post-Kazan Normalisation Steps — Direct Flights and the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra
Beyond the political-level boundary talks, India and China have restored a set of people-to-people and connectivity arrangements that had been suspended since the 2020 border standoff, which are tracked separately as markers of normalization.
Key Details
- Direct passenger flights between India and China, suspended since early 2020, were agreed to resume in 2025 following talks between India's Foreign Secretary and China's Vice Foreign Minister
- The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in the Tibet Autonomous Region undertaken via routes through Chinese territory, resumed in 2025 after a five-year suspension dating to 2020
- These steps followed the disengagement and patrolling understanding reached in October 2024, endorsed at the leaders' level on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia
- Such measures are distinct from, and do not substitute for, the political-level Special Representatives talks on the boundary question, which continue separately
India's acknowledgement of these steps in Manila signals that normalization is being tracked through concrete, verifiable connectivity and people-to-people measures alongside — not instead of — progress on border peace.
Supply Chain Reliability and India's Import-Substitution Response
India's push for "predictable supply chains" reflects concern over its heavy import dependence on China for intermediate and finished goods, including electronics and pharmaceutical raw materials, which India has sought to address through domestic manufacturing incentives rather than a bilateral trade agreement.
Key Details
- No India-China bilateral free trade agreement exists; trade is governed by both countries' shared World Trade Organization (WTO) Most Favoured Nation (MFN) commitments under GATT Article I
- India has used Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes across sectors — including electronics, telecom equipment, and bulk drugs/APIs — as its principal domestic tool to reduce import dependence rather than relying on negotiated tariff concessions from China
- China remained India's second-largest trading partner in FY2024-25, with total bilateral trade of roughly US $127.7 billion and a trade deficit weighted heavily in China's favour
- India has separately used trade-remedy tools such as anti-dumping duties and Quality Control Orders on specific China-origin goods (such as steel and certain chemicals) to address import surges
Raising "supply chain reliability" in a foreign-minister-level meeting signals that India is seeking diplomatic commitments on predictability from China, even as its primary structural response continues to run through domestic PLI-based manufacturing policy rather than a negotiated trade deal.
- East Asia Summit established: 2005 (India a founding member); ASEAN Regional Forum established: 1994
- India-China direct flights suspended since early 2020; resumption agreed for 2025
- Kailash Mansarovar Yatra resumed in 2025 after a five-year suspension (since 2020)
- LAC disengagement and patrolling understanding: October 2024, ahead of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia
- India-China bilateral trade (FY2024-25): approximately US $127.7 billion, with a trade deficit weighted toward China [figures vary slightly by source]
- Meeting location and context: Manila, Philippines, ASEAN-centred ministerial cycle, July 2026