US-China trade war: Can it help India surmount its own trade deficit?

China is India's largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching almost $72 billion in 2016-17, an increase of 88% from $38 billion in 2007-08

India’s trade deficit with China increased more than two-fold (219%) from $16 billion in 2007-08 to $51 billion in 2016-17, according to commerce ministry data. India’s imports ($61 billion) from China were six times its exports ($10 billion) in 2016-17, making rising trade imbalance a major concern.

“Increasing trade deficit with China can be attributed primarily to the fact that Chinese exports to India rely strongly on manufactured items to meet the demand of fast expanding sectors like telecom and power, while India’s exports to China are characterized by primary and