India's Business Standard published an op-ed by IFPRI researchers Manmeet Ajmani and Devesh Roy of the South Asia Office on India and China's participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the region's multilateral trading arrangement. The piece argues that while India and China have pursued ASEAN beginning around the same time, China has taken advantage of the agreement, while India has yet to tap into its potential: "In the Asean market, the train left at the same time for India and China, but while India's ride has been symbolic of India's rickety railways, it seems that China's has been on a bullet train."
