During the 1990s, the question in the boardrooms of multiÂÂnationals was: "What is our China strategy?" More recently, the question has been: "What is our India strategy?" Now companies should be asking: "What is our strategy for China-India trade?"
The results of a four-decade old estrangement have been dismal for business between China and India. Total bilateral trade in 2004 amounted to no more than $14bn - about as much as is traded over the Canada-US border every week. But a geopolitical thaw is now reawakening trade between the two natural trading partners. With large populations, fast-growing economies and complementary industrial capabilities, the two countries have much to trade. The potential for growth is staggering. In April this year, the pair signed an agreement to boost trade to $20bn by 2008. But that figure will be surpassed within the current year, and some pundits predict it will reach $450bn by 2010.
