♤ The challenge for India is how to engage in a region that China has similarly set its eyes on.

♤ There are certain instances from which lessons can be drawn. In April 2010, when Argentina put restrictions on Chinese imports, China stopped buying Argentine soybean oil. By promptly tripling their imports of this oil, India helped Argentina avert a serious blow to its oil industry in monetary terms.

♤ Brazil, which is part of the BRICS grouping, is also confronting the realities of a much more powerful China trying to make BRICS an extension of its own economic heft. India can carve out a much more equitable partnership with Brazil that underscores its credentials as a responsible global stakeholder.

♤ Further, if India could obtain membership to the Alianza del Pacífico (Pacific Alliance), it could help enhance its economic ties with the bloc and assist in balancing China’s aggressive Belt and Road Initiative.