India, China clashed at Doklam in 2017, a bank blinked 2,000 km away in Mumbai
When Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a face-off at Doklam along the northeastern border in 2017, the fallout was felt over 2,000 km down the map – in Mumbai, home to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s only branch in India.
The ICBC branch “proactively reduced its exposure to loan and investment risks and suspended the disbursement of 11 approved but undisbursed loans and bond investments totalling $185 million”. It also “organised” Chinese Communist Party members across every department to stay in constant touch with China’s embassy and consulate.
These are the key revelations from internal documents reviewed by The Indian Express in China Capital – a global investigation led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which lifts the veil on how state-owned ICBC, the world’s biggest bank by asset size, is a vital cog in China’s geopolitical blueprint.
The investigation lays bare the extent of influence the Chinese state holds in all sections of its economic infrastructure – and offers a rare peek at how China sought to ring-fence its assets in India during the border standoff.
With more than $8 trillion in assets, ICBC is China’s biggest commercial bank, placing it among an elite group of four state-owned financial behemoths that also include Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank.
The China Capital revelations come from a dataset of 4.8 million documents from ICBC’s London branch, including internal reports marked “trade secrets”, confidential dossiers, and lists detailing over 4,000 corporate clients. Collectively, the trove reveals how ICBC used its London operations as a financial hub for companies and conglomerates linked to sanctioned Russian and Belarusian business owners, debt-ridden states and China’s political elite.
The ICBC archives are dated between 2005 and 2024 — a span when China ascended on the world stage and President Xi Jinping rose to power — and were first obtained by a hacking group, Hunters International, before being leaked to the ICIJ.
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The consortium shared the records with 24 media partners, including The Indian Express, The Times of London and Der Spiegel in Germany, for the investigation involving 75 journalists from 24 countries.
ICBC did not respond to questionnaires from The Indian Express and ICIJ detailing the findings and seeking its response.
What ‘confidential’ dossier says about Doklam
The Doklam references feature in a January 2018 ICBC work summary of overseas branches marked “confidential” and “not for external distribution”. The 178-page report covers the performance of 42 overseas ICBC branches and notes that the Mumbai branch faced “internal and external challenges” that year due to the Indo-China border impasse, but managed to maintain “normal operations”.
China\'s Bank In India
China's Bank In India
File: ICBC Overseas Branches Work Summary · Dated: Jan 2018
The Standoff · 1 of 4
A 73-Day Face-Off At The Tri-Junction
Where
Doklam sits at the tri-junction between India, Bhutan and China.
How it began
PLA troops occupied territory disputed with Bhutan; in June 2017, China attempted to build a road there and Indian troops responded — injuries on both sides.
How it ended
Both sides disengaged in August 2017 after diplomatic parleys, ending the 73-day standoff.
The fallout reached over 2,000 km away — to ICBC's only India branch, in Mumbai.
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The Freeze · 2 of 4
$185 Million In Loans, Paused
11 deals paused
The Mumbai branch suspended disbursement of 11 approved but undisbursed loans and bond investments, totalling $185 million.
Revenue hit
The pause impacted operating revenue by approximately $6.36 million, the bank's own internal report states.
Target missed
Mumbai met just 57.7% of the profit target set by ICBC's Beijing head office that year.
Figures are drawn from a January 2018 ICBC work summary marked "confidential" — part of the leaked China Capital dataset.
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The Party Response · 3 of 4
Party Members, Posted And In Contact
Mobilised branch-wide
The branch "organized" Communist Party members across every department to remain at their posts during the crisis.
In constant contact
Party members maintained communication with China's embassy and consulate throughout, the report states.
Reported to HQ
The branch reported to relevant departments at headquarters and formulated contingency plans to reduce credit and investment exposure.
This is how ICBC's own internal report describes the response — not an outside characterisation.
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The Crisis Culture · 4 of 4
Tea Sessions And Staff Outreach
CEO tea sessions
Organised during what the report calls the "tense period of the border standoff."
One-on-one check-ins
Discussions were held with local staff.
Staff outreach
Social activities were arranged to address local colleagues' concerns about the situation.
Source: The Indian Express, in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
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Doklam stands at the tri-junction between India, Bhutan and China. The border dispute, which lasted 73 days in 2017, began with troops of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) occupying territory disputed with Bhutan. Following attempts by China in June 2017 to construct a new road in the area, Indian troops responded, resulting in injuries on both sides. The standoff ended in August when both sides, after holding diplomatic parleys, agreed to disengage from their aggressive positions.
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There are several references to the crisis and the resultant strained relations between the two countries in the ICBC report titled, “The net profit target was not met due to internal and external factors”. It cites the border situation as the reason the Mumbai branch could meet only 57.7% of the target set by its head office in Beijing.
The report states: “The primary reasons were as follows: first, during the period of border crossings, the branch proactively reduced its exposure to loan and investment risks and suspended the disbursement of 11 approved but undisbursed loans and bond investments totalling $185 million, which impacted operating revenue by approximately $6.36 million.”
The admission of CCP members manning desks at the ICBC Mumbai branch during the Doklam crisis comes in a section titled “Strengthening grassroots Party organization building to mitigate the adverse impact of border incursions”.
China\'s Bank In India
China's Bank In India
As depicted in ICBC's own internal work summary — not an independent assessment of an ongoing relationship.
Reported To
ICBC Headquarters & Party Committee
Beijing head office received contingency plans and reports from the Mumbai branch during the crisis.
reported to ↑organised by ↓
The Branch
ICBC Mumbai Branch — India's Only ICBC Branch
"Organized" Communist Party members across every department to remain at their posts.
stayed in contact with
In Contact With
Chinese Embassy & Consulate
Party members maintained communication with the embassy and consulate throughout the standoff.
The work summary notes: “During the period of border incursions, the branch organized Party members across all departments to remain at their posts, actively maintaining communication with the embassy and consulate, and ensured the branch’s normal operations…”
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The crisis, according to the ICBC report, also led the branch to formulate contingency plans. The report reads: “The branch proactively reported to relevant departments at headquarters, comprehensively formulated contingency plans, reduced credit and investment exposures and minimised the adverse impact…”
During what the report calls the “tense period of the border standoff”, the Mumbai branch, it states, took several unusual steps to foster a culture of “transparency, communication and trust”. CEO tea sessions were organised, one-on-one discussions were held with local staff, and social activities were arranged for local colleagues to address their concerns about the situation, the report says.
The work summary is not the only document in the China Capital dataset that points to close ties between ICBC and the CCP. ICBC, like other premier Chinese financial institutions, has a “Party Committee”, and agendas of bank meetings from 2024 show key personnel assigned tasks such as taking on special duties from the Party Committee, or coordinating with the ombudsman of the Party Commission.
A 2022 financial report presented by ICBC’s General Manager, international operations, lists this as a “major responsibility” for the bank: “…the main political task is to ensure that learning and awareness-raising activities are carried out in accordance with the Party’s 20 pillars…”
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The China Capital records also show that while assessing clients, ICBC managers in London weighed the commercial value of deals against the borrowers’ or clients’ ability to advance Beijing’s economic agenda.
China\'s Bank In India
China's Bank In India
1
During the 2017 Doklam standoff, ICBC's Mumbai branch — its only India branch — suspended 11 approved loans and bond investments worth $185 million.
2
The pause hit operating revenue by about $6.36 million, and the branch met just 57.7% of its annual target, per ICBC's own internal report.
3
The branch organised Communist Party members across every department to remain at their posts and stay in contact with China's embassy and consulate.
4
The revelations come from a January 2018 "confidential" 178-page ICBC work summary — part of a leaked dataset of 4.8 million documents spanning 2005 to 2024.
5
The dataset was obtained by hacking group Hunters International and shared with the ICIJ, which coordinated the "China Capital" investigation across 24 countries and 75 journalists.
6
ICBC did not respond to questionnaires from The Indian Express and ICIJ seeking comment.
According to the dossiers and data, this included policies such as Going Global, aimed at helping Chinese firms access foreign markets, and the Belt and Road Initiative, the massive infrastructure scheme spearheaded by President Xi Jinping – which India stayed away from.
With the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
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