(This is a response by author Sanjay Pulipaka to former Foreign Secretary Krishnan Srinivasan's review of his book 'The Tiger with Wings: China’s BRI and Economic Engagement in South Asia,' which was published on The Quint on 2 August 2025. You can read the review here.)
Krishnan Srinivasan has written a thoughtful and elaborate review of my book, The Tiger with Wings: China’s BRI and Economic Engagement in South Asia. I am grateful for the care he took to summarise and highlight the core arguments of each chapter. I am absolutely thrilled that Krishnan feels that the book “can be used as a foundational reference” for examining China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and economic engagement in South Asia.
The following is my response to a few pertinent questions that Krishnan raised about the arguments in the book, which were perhaps intended to generate a conversation. I hope the readers of The Quint will benefit from this dialogue.
A Separate Chapter for Bhutan?
The book does not have a separate chapter on China-Bhutan interactions. Chinese influence in Bhutan may be growing much to the discomfiture of India. However, at the moment, the bilateral trade is either minuscule or non-existent. China is not implementing infrastructure projects in Bhutan.
Furthermore, Bhutan is neither partnering with China on the Belt and Road Initiative nor is it keen to join the framework. Therefore, Bhutan does not have a separate chapter in the book, and yet it figures in a couple of places in various chapters.
References to Local Distrust of China based on Hearsay?
The references to local protests in various countries against Chinese projects are not based on hearsay. There is indeed considerable documented evidence that demonstrates the growing disappointment with the Chinese projects in the Indian subcontinent.
The massive protests in Gwadar (Baluchistan) against the Chinese projects attest to the growing discontent with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the modalities of its implementation. The Chinese news platforms have reported that Chinese factories and business enterprises were subjected to arson in Myanmar.
Such arson was not a sporadic incident but a consequence of the apprehension that the local people harbour about Chinese engagement with Myanmar. There are numerous other examples of local protests against Chinese projects in South Asia.
Countries Have Willingly joined BRI, So What Seems To Be the Problem?
It may indeed be true that, despite concerns of debt traps, many countries did sign up to the BRI willingly. Leadership in countries that were undergoing fragile political transitions (such as Myanmar) or countries that were recovering from civil war (Sri Lanka) were keen to show rapid economic progress to their people.
Therefore, many such fragile countries and others willingly participated in the BRI. However, such willingness to participate does not absolve the more powerful countries from being evaluated for their political and economic strategies. Today, China sources 50 percent of its rare earth resources from Myanmar and also accesses a host of other natural resources from that country.
Therefore, interrogating the impact of Chinese resource extraction on local communities is a valid exercise. Suppose a Western multinational corporation (MNC) engages in resource extraction from other countries, using political and economic leverage, resulting in a harmful impact on local communities, then such practices will be subjected to harsh criticism. In fact, the operations of Indian firms abroad are often subjected to intense scrutiny.
An objective evaluation mandates that the criteria for evaluation should be the same for all, and we should not hesitate to evaluate the Chinese economic engagement in other countries, saying that the smaller countries have willingly consented to such practices.
There is a larger question at play: do bigger powers do as they please, and should smaller powers suffer as they must? Are there no norms or values based on which we should evaluate sovereign states?
Country-Wise Trade Deficits Are Unimportant
The argument that “country-wise trade deficits are unimportant; it is only the overall trade balance that is important” is contingent on the context. The economic engagement with China has resulted in significant trade deficits for many South Asian countries, including India.
India had a trade deficit of a whopping USD 99 billion in 2024-2025, USD 85 billion in 2023-2024, and USD 83 billion in 2022-2023 in its trade relations with China. Given the scale of the deficit, it is indeed a valid source of concern. It is often argued that India’s manufacturing is not strong enough to find a foothold in China. However, Indian pharmaceutical exports to the US, which has rigorous regulations, accounted for almost USD 9 billion(in 2023-2024). On the other hand, India’s pharma exports to China accounted for approximately USD 350 million.
The pharma story indicates that China, the world’s second-largest economy, exports in large quantities and simultaneously has instituted non-tariff barriers for Indian goods. Such tactics have had a deleterious impact on India’s domestic manufacturing and consequently on local employment. If a country of India’s size is struggling to have a fair trade with China, the relatively smaller economies in South Asia fare much worse.
Is China Heading towards a Catastrophic Economic Collapse?
With China experiencing a severe economic crisis, it will attempt to increase exports to other countries, thereby widening trade deficits in many nations. The Chinese economic crisis has three main components: rising debt levels, relatively low domestic consumption, and increasing difficulties in accessing European and American markets.
Addressing these three challenges will test the political sagacity of the Chinese leadership. However, nowhere does the book state that a severe economic crisis will translate into a catastrophic collapse of the economy. The book details the previous economic crises and their impact on Chinese domestic politics and external engagement, and stresses the importance of learning from such experiences.
China: From an Insignificant Economy to World’s Second-Largest Economy
Despite numerous challenges, there is no denying that China has achieved significant economic success. The first chapter of the book acknowledges the spectacular economic progress that China has achieved. However, the book focuses on examining the consequences of Chinese economic growth for South Asia.
Has the Chinese economic engagement brought about significant positive structural changes in the economies of South Asia? It can be argued that external economic engagement does not bring out structural changes in a country’s economy. However, there are examples to the contrary. The India-US economic collaboration has resulted in fundamental improvements in Indian agriculture due to the Green Revolution and the remarkable growth of the Indian service sector economy.
Can Chinese economic engagement in South Asia show similar examples? Has Chinese economic engagement brought about transparency, equity, and accountability in infrastructure financing? There are a host of such questions which should be posed, however awkward they may be.
It is indeed true that India-US relations are currently experiencing a particularly challenging phase. There is an opinion among some that India needs to move closer to China to counterbalance US pressure. Stabilisation of India-China relations is in the interest of both countries and for peace in Asia. However, before India and China can form a common cause against the United States, both nations will have to overcome numerous challenges.
From an Indian perspective, such challenges include deep distrust stemming from persistent grey zone violations on the border and sustained Chinese support to Pakistan.
(Sanjay Pulipaka is the Chairperson of the Politeia Research Foundation.)