It comes as good news at the right time that China has welcomed over 85,000 Indian visitors in just three months, easing visa rules in what I believe is not just a travel gesture, but a quiet invitation, an opening which both nations should seriously consider embracing.

For far too long, India and China have allowed political tension to overshadow economic opportunity. I don’t deny the complexities of our relationship. Border disputes, trust deficits, and strategic rivalries are real and serious. But in today’s rapidly shifting global order, especially with the United States ramping up tariffs and the impending trade war, we need to ask ourselves a hard question on whether we can afford to keep ignoring each other economically?

I for one strongly feel that the answer is no.

Let’s be honest, China is not going anywhere. It remains the world’s largest manufacturing hub, and despite Western narratives of its slowdown, its scale and efficiency are still unmatched. On the other hand, India is the rising star of consumption and growth, with a massive young population and an increasingly sophisticated market. What we lack in infrastructure and industrial scale, China can offer. What China lacks in domestic demand growth and external political trust, India can provide.