Anita Consonni

China and India Between Trade Cooperation and Competition: an Historical and Modern Comparison Anita Consonni

China and India have come to play an increasingly relevant role in the world economy so much so that they are currently changing the geopolitical equilibrium in Asia and thus upsetting the world order established at the end of the Cold War. Trade has been a key element in the modern relationship between China and India in the past twenty years, and improving bilateral trade has been the main cause of interaction and cooperation between the two. Considering the trade figures, Sino-India trade partnership seems strong and stable, but the trade composition clearly indicates that the relationship is unequal. By retracing the history of commerce relations between the two and analyzing their bilateral trade and world trade, this thesis will examine if commerce enables continuous cooperation or creates competition between China and India.