India and China both seem to be testing the resilience of their relationship- or perhaps waiting for the other to crack. On June 1, the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi received an advisory warning their countrymen to refrain from developing business ties with India.

China cites the hike in petroleum prices as its reason for discouraging its citizens from investing in India. “According to Indian media reports, many places in India are witnessing protests and strikes due to the recent hike in oil prices. Railways and highway transport have eit
Is an increase in oil prices reason enough to elicit such a reaction? Or is it rooted in a wish for retaliation after New Delhi warned Indians against trading in China?her come to a halt due to strikes or have been impacted to different degrees,” the advisory said, as reported by The Times of India.

Following the detainment of the Indian businessmen in Yiwu, the Indian Embassy in New Delhi, in an uncharacteristic move, advised Indian businessmen against doing trade in China. For the first time in very long has India made an attempt to ruffle its neighbours feathers.The Indian Embassy in China’s gave a caustic reply to the article in the Global Times by Wu Dahong, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, defending the detainment of the Indians and justifying the move, saying, “… it seems obvious that the Indians brought these troubles on themselves,” he said. “It is them, not the Yiwu business community, who should be held accountable for these disputes.” The prevailing opinion is that China is adopting the ‘an eye for an eye’ ideology by advising its citizen against trade in India.

We at Inchin Closer, however, highly doubt that the two will arrive at an impasse. Both stand to gain or lose heavily, depending upon the decisions they take. Whether or not they will follow the warnings given to them by the well- meaning bodies remains to be seen.