In a Thursday editorial, the Global Times argued that export controls on tunnel boring machines should not grow into a dispute with India. This is an editorial from a Chinese state-run outlet and should be read alongside India’s position.
According to the Global Times editorial, China announced on October 19 export controls on key machinery including tunnel boring machines (shield and rock types), taking effect November 18. Authorities said the items have clear dual-use, military and civilian, characteristics and that the list names no particular country. This account conveys the newspaper’s stance, which should be distinguished from the Chinese government’s official position.
광고 문의 · 300×250The editorial argued that the measure is a licensing regime, not an export ban, and that applications for civilian projects with clear end users and uses that comply with the rules will be approved. It also cited Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal as saying that if China does not supply TBMs, India will develop them itself and ‘will not bow’. We could not find an independent source for that remark beyond the editorial.
The editorial’s argument
The editorial wrote that India, pushing metro, high-speed rail, road and water tunnel projects all at once, needs large TBMs, so its concerns are understandable. But it argued the issue should stay technical and not become a political matter or one of national dignity.
It recalled that in 2024 there was a customs delay for German-brand TBMs made in China, that Goyal raised it with German officials, and that after bilateral coordination the problem was gradually resolved and some equipment was delivered. It also noted that during Wang Yi’s 2025 visit to India, China said it would address specific concerns including TBMs. Its gist: India’s drive for TBM self-reliance is a legitimate industrial goal, and China’s right to protect national security and meet international obligations is equally legitimate.
The editorial said China does not see India’s development as a threat and is ‘not that petty’. It rebutted Bloomberg’s claim that India faces trade-war risk and the New York Times’ claim that China is building an ‘economic arsenal’, saying they omit standard export-control practice and China’s licensing channels and aim to sow distrust between the two countries.
Indian media, for their part, reported that the move could affect India’s metro, high-speed rail and tunnel projects, and one report said no official Indian government response to the announcement was confirmed. The editorial concluded that practical cooperation is valuable to India too, that improved ties were hard won, and that a technical issue should go back to technical channels. How fast licenses will actually be reviewed and how broadly they will be approved has not been confirmed.
