This week began with India being pushed by the US to take a “more active” role in political and security cooperation in Asia, at a time when the region is becoming increasingly anxious about a more assertive China.
Indian leaders themselves have expressed fears their country is being hemmed in by Beijing’s expanding ties with Pakistan, Burma, Nepal and Sri Lanka. But recent days have provided a reminder that trade and business ties between the two regional heavyweights are proliferating too.
On Thursday, India’s Reliance Power ordered a massive $10bn worth of power generation equipment from Shanghai Electric Group in a deal financed by Chinese banks - a move that Anil Ambani, the Indian billionaire and chairman of Reliance ADA, described as “the largest order in the history of the power sector”.