INDIA CHINA Connect

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first nature-themed airport terminal in Guwahati, built at a cost of ₹4,000 crore. The new Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport terminal can handle over 13 million passengers annually, making it the largest in Northeast India and a key hub boosting connectivity, tourism, trade, and regional development.

Pranita Venkatesh, a Fijian American of Indian origin, has been sworn in as San Carlos’ youngest mayor following a unanimous council vote. Elected to the City Council in 2022, the former child psychologist brings experience in economic development, community service, and business, with priorities spanning public safety, childcare, housing, and economic stability.

India’s travel habits are shifting from annual holidays to frequent, short trips, driven by better connectivity, rewards, and wider participation from women and Tier-2/Tier-3 cities. Scapia’s 2025 data shows sharp growth in flights, stays, and global spending. Travellers now prioritise experiences, flexible itineraries, and repeatable 48–72 hour getaways over long, infrequent vacations.

India’s retail sector is thriving as Western malls decline. While the US has seen widespread store closures since 2020, India is witnessing strong consumer demand, near-full mall occupancy, and rising rents. Limited organised retail space, low e-commerce penetration, and growing global brand interest are driving investments, with malls evolving into lifestyle hubs.

China leads the global race in humanoid robotics, filing about five times more related patents than the United States over the past five years, according to Morgan Stanley. The report also highlights China’s major cost advantages, noting that excluding China from supply chains could nearly triple production costs for robots like Tesla’s Optimus Gen 2.

As 2025 ends, Isro marks a year of steady progress through routine launches, advancing research and stronger commercial ties via NSIL. Building on decades of frugal, high‑impact robotic missions, focus now shifts to Gaganyaan. Uncrewed tests, safety systems, Vyommitra flights and re‑entry trials in 2026 aim to place India among elite human spaceflight nations.

China has launched an online visa system for Indian applicants, cutting paperwork and consulate visits. The portal supports tourist, business, student, and work visas, enables digital submissions, biometric scheduling, application tracking, and INR payments. The move aligns with gradual India–China normalisation, alongside resumed flights, eased visas, and renewed people-to-people exchanges.

Tencent is accessing advanced Nvidia chips by renting overseas computing power through Japan‑based Datasection, bypassing U.S. export restrictions. The $12 billion arrangement relies on Datasection’s large AI data centers using Blackwell processors. The deal highlights policy loopholes, the rise of “neocloud” providers, and how Chinese tech firms are shifting AI workloads abroad.

China surged ahead of India by reforming earlier, backing manufacturing, new private entrants, local governments, and R&D investment. Manufacturing scale drove incomes higher. India liberalised later, favoured incumbents, centralised policy, and underinvested in innovation, tilting growth to services. The lessons: empower states and cities, support startups, expand manufacturing, boost R&D and education, and cut red tape—without copying China’s authoritarian model.

A NITI Aayog report warns that India’s higher education system is deepening brain drain, with nearly 25 Indian students going abroad for every foreign student coming in. Rising outbound mobility, high financial outflows, and weak talent retention threaten innovation and development, prompting calls for “internationalisation at home” to strengthen domestic research, attract global talent, and retain skilled youth.

India and New Zealand have concluded a landmark free trade agreement after nine months of talks, offering zero-duty access for all Indian exports and easing tariffs on 95% of New Zealand’s exports. The pact expands services access, enables skilled worker mobility, commits $20 billion in New Zealand investment, and aims to double bilateral trade within five years.

US lawmakers warn of worsening instability in Bangladesh after mob violence, political killings and attacks on minorities, including the lynching of Hindu worker Dipu Chandra Das. Regional fallout has followed. Meanwhile, rights groups urge global action on escalating abuses against Hindus in Pakistan, calling on the EU to condition trade benefits on accountability, enforcement, and protections for vulnerable minority communities.