Chinese experts believe US Vice-President J D Vance will achieve nothing from his India visit. Reason: 'Make in India' initiative
As US Vice President JD Vance embarks on a four-day visit to India on Monday, a significant move as both countries seek to explore economic opportunities, including a bilateral trade deal, the Chinese media has declared that the visit is unlikely to achieve anything for the US.
Vance will fail to secure a significant shift in India's trade policy. The trip also won't do much to ease India's concerns over the US "reciprocal" tariffs, according to a report, quoting Chinese experts, that appeared in state-backed Global Times.
The US Vice President, along with his Indian-origin wife Usha and their three children, is scheduled to land at the Palam airbase at 10 am. Besides his Indian-origin wife Usha and their three children—Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel— Vance will be accompanied by a delegation of US officials from the state and defence department.
While the visit comes amid India's efforts to soften impending trade barriers, the visit achieves geopolitical significance as the diplomatic mission happens between Washington and Beijing, India's main rival, lock horns over tariffs.
However, Chinese analysts say while the US attempts to solidify trade relations with India, it won't excuse India from the "reciprocal" tariffs list. Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times that Vance may be pursuing multiple goals, but none of them will have the desired result.
"He may find it difficult to achieve any significant results, especially given the US' domestic demand to reduce trade deficits and bring manufacturing back to the US, which runs counter to India's own "Make in India" initiative," Qian added.
The opinion pieces and columns carried by the Chinese government's mouthpiece Global Times are often a reflection of the official stance.
Stressing the "hurdles" before the India-US trade pact, the Chinese analyst said India is also likely to remain cautious about whether the US will follow through on any tariff commitments.
Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, believes there is no common ground as both countries have different economic interests and strategic priorities. "While the US seeks to use tariffs as leverage to push India toward trade concessions, India is focused on safeguarding its own trade interests and advancing a fairer trade environment. Given India's ongoing efforts to bolster its domestic manufacturing sector, the two sides are unlikely to find common ground easily," Wang said.
She opined that while the US may see India as an alternative source of goods as tariffs would make Chinese imports costly, India's capacities are nowhere near China's.
"India's supply chain capacity still falls short of China's, making it difficult to meet US expectations. Moreover, increasing imports from India would contradict the original US aim of cutting trade deficits and reshoring manufacturing, making Vance's strategy internally inconsistent," Wang said.
The analysts also warned India to remain clear-eyed about the current "America First" prioritisation in the US and urged New Delhi to avoid engaging with the US on its terms.
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