International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR)

India Asian Economic Partnership: The Gap Between Ambition and Ground Realities

The bilateral trade architecture in Asia is currently undergoing a profound metamorphosis, propelled by supply chain restructuring, geopolitical recalibration, and the maturation of regional governance mechanisms. Intra-regional trade now constitutes more than half of Asia's overall commercial activity, having registered a 43% increase over the last forty years. Key trade arteries such as those linking China-ASEAN, India-Vietnam, Thailand-Vietnam and India-Indonesia have experienced significant expansion. By the first quarter of 2025, ASEAN had cemented its status as China's foremost trading partner accounting for 16.6% of China's global trade volume. The entry into force of the RCEP and the enhanced CAFTA 3.0 has accelerated tariff liberalization and harmonized origin protocols with China's exchanges with RCEP economies reaching 13.85 trillion yuan in 2025. Nevertheless, these advancements are offset by acute frictions. The unpredictability of US tariff policies has injected considerable uncertainty into the region, incentivizing countries to pursue fragmented bilateral arrangements that threaten to undermine the coherence of regional integration. Against this backdrop, the IMF forecasts a deceleration in Asia's growth from 4.5% in 2025 to 4.1% in 2025, attributed to trade tensions and subdued demand. This study posits that the developmental trajectory of Asian bilateral trade will be determined by the region's collective capacity to manage geopolitical risks, bridge the disparity between trade-agreement aspirations and their actual utilization rates, and foster resilient supply chains that transition from basic assembly operations to sophisticated, value-added manufacturing.