New Delhi: China has asked the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) dispute settlement body to constitute a panel in its case against India over support measures for the solar cells, modules and information technology sectors, after bilateral talks failed to produce an agreement.
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The dispute was originally filed by China in December last year. Consultations between the two sides were held on February 10 this year, but did not lead to a resolution. "Unfortunately, those consultations failed to resolve the dispute. Accordingly, China submits the...request for the establishment of a panel," a WTO communication said.
Under WTO rules, seeking consultations is the mandatory first step in the dispute settlement process. A panel request becomes available to the complaining party only after consultations fail to yield a satisfactory outcome.
Beijing contends that India's tariffs on certain technology products, along with measures that favour the use of domestically manufactured goods over imports, discriminate against Chinese exports. China — a dominant global supplier of solar panels and IT hardware — has argued that these policies violate India's obligations under the WTO's General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures.
This is not the first time China has escalated a trade dispute with India to the panel stage in recent months. In January, Beijing made a similar request in a separate case concerning India's incentive schemes for automobiles, batteries and electric vehicles, again after bilateral consultations broke down.
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The dispute comes against the backdrop of a widening trade imbalance between the two countries. India's exports to China rose 36.66 percent to USD 19.47 billion in 2025-26, but imports climbed 16 percent to USD 131.63 billion, pushing the bilateral trade deficit to an all-time high of USD 112.6 billion — up from USD 99.2 billion the previous year. China remains India's second-largest trading partner overall.
