Why is India sending one lakh people to Taiwan? China’s countdown has started

India is pursuing closer economic ties with Taiwan with plans to send thousands of workers to the island as early as next month, which may anger neighboring China. Taiwan may hire more than 100,000 Indians to work in factories, farms and hospitals, the officials said on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private. The two sides are expected to sign the employment mobility agreement in early December, the people said.

Taiwan needs more workers, while the economy in India is not growing fast enough to create enough jobs for the millions of youth entering the labor market every year. Taiwan is estimated to become a “super aged” society by 2025, with elderly people estimated to make up more than a fifth of the population.

However, the employment agreement is likely to escalate geopolitical tensions with China, which opposes any official exchanges with Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own. China is separated from Taiwan by a narrow body of water and shares a Himalayan border with India. It has also been India’s top source of imports for the last two decades.