Are China and India BFFs now?

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

Business

4.7 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 30 October 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

China and India have a long, complicated history. Just a few years ago, there was a spate of armed skirmishes between the two nations. And yet, there are signs of warming relations amidst President Trump’s ongoing trade war. Today on the show, is that trade war pushing India toward China? And what could happen if two of the world’s largest economies come together?

Related episodes:
China’s trade war perspective
What might save China's economy
Is the US pushing countries towards China?

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	NPR
0:02.0	June 2020.
0:14.0	Dozens of Indian soldiers in winter jackets
0:17.0	weighed through a murky river holding guns, poles and riot shields.
0:23.2	They're in the depths of the Gulwan Valley in the Himalayas on a disputed border between India and
0:28.6	China.
0:29.5	Once the soldiers reach the other side of the river, there's some pushing and shoving with members of the
0:34.2	Chinese army.
0:36.5	Not a single shot is fired.
0:39.2	There is a long-standing agreement not to shoot along the border,
0:42.1	but at least 20 Indian soldiers are killed.
0:45.6	A senior Indian military official told the BBC
0:48.0	that Chinese soldiers used iron rods,
0:50.8	studded with nails, to beat Indian soldiers.
0:53.6	And Beijing said that four from its side were
0:55.9	killed that day. Around this time, other skirmishes at the India-China border flare up.
1:01.7	In response, the Indian government banned several Chinese apps, including TikTok. China blocked
1:07.9	Indian news websites. Chinese imports into India were heavily scrutinized. Flights between the two countries stayed suspended for years.
1:17.6	And despite all this, this summer, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi was snapped grinning at an event in China, chatting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
1:27.3	This is right as the Trump administration plays hardball in trade talks with both countries.
1:32.7	So this raises one big question, which is, are the U.S.'s steep tariffs pushing India and China together?
1:40.6	This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Adrian Ma.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 4 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.