China Requests WTO to Establish Panel in Solar, IT Dispute with India

WTO Dispute Settlement Body to Review China's Complaint Against India

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has received a request from China to set up a panel in a case it has filed against India over New Delhi's support measures for the solar cells, modules, and information technology sectors. The request follows the failure of bilateral consultations on reaching a mutually agreed solution on the dispute filed by China in December last year.

The consultations, held on February 10, 2026, were intended to resolve the dispute through a mutually agreed solution. However, the talks failed to yield a satisfactory outcome, prompting China to submit a request for the establishment of a panel. According to WTO rules, seeking consultation is the first step in the dispute settlement process, and if the consultations requested with India do not result in a satisfactory solution, China can request the WTO to set up a panel to rule on the issue raised.

China has alleged that India's tariff or import duty on certain technology products, as well as measures such as the use of domestic products over imported goods, discriminate against Chinese goods. Beijing has claimed that these support measures and incentives infringe rules pertaining to the WTO's General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures.

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China is the second-largest trading partner of India, and the trade relationship between the two countries has seen significant growth in recent years. According to recent data, India's exports to China rose 36.66 per cent to USD 19.47 billion during the last fiscal year, while imports increased 16 per cent to USD 131.63 billion. The trade deficit swelled to an all-time high of USD 112.6 billion in 2025-26 as against USD 99.2 billion in 2024-25.

This is not the first time China has requested the WTO's dispute settlement body to review India's policies. In January, China filed another case against India over New Delhi's incentive schemes for auto, battery, and electric vehicles, after bilateral consultations failed to resolve the dispute.