When China, on October 20, formally lodged a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against India’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for electric vehicles, advanced chemistry cells and auto components, it was not just a trade move—it was a geopolitical statement.
With this complaint, Beijing accuses New Delhi of discriminating against foreign manufacturers by linking subsidies to local production and domestic content requirements. It questions whether India’s ambitious clean-tech manufacturing push aligns with the global trade rules it has pledged to uphold.
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The complaint also marks the first time China has directly targeted India’s flagship industrial policy architecture at the WTO. For New Delhi, the PLI scheme—spread across 14 sectors—is not merely an incentive mechanism but a strategic reindustrialisation project designed to reduce import dependence, build manufacturing capacity and capture a share of the fast-emerging global green value chain.
Beijing’s timing is deliberate.
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