India’s exports to China increased by 8.7% in the previous fiscal year, reaching USD 16.67 billion.
Several industries contributed to its expansion, including iron ore, cotton yarn/fabrics/made-ups, handlooms, spices, fruits and vegetables, plastics, and linoleum.
China is the largest commercial partner of India with $118.4 billion in two-way commerce in 2023-24, surpassing the United States, according to data by economic think tank GTRI.
Bilateral trade between India and the United States was worth $118.3 billion.
According to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India’s trade dynamics with its top 15 trading partners changed significantly between fiscal year 2019 and FY2024.
These changes affected both imports and exports, as well as the status of trade surplus or deficit across various sectors.
Economic Times quoted GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava saying that, “this growth in imports led to an expanding trade deficit, rising from USD 53.57 billion in FY2019 to USD 85.09 billion in FY2024, highlighting concerns over stagnant exports amidst rising imports.”
Data from the ministry of commerce indicates that China ranked as India’s top trading partner in both 2020–21 and 2013–14. Before China, the UAE was the country’s biggest trading partner. The United States was the largest partner in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
In 2023-24, the UAE was India’s third largest trading partner, with a total of USD 83.6 billion. It was followed by Russia ($65.7 billion), Saudi Arabia ($43.4 billion), and Singapore ($35.6 billion).
The focus on India-China trade has arisen mainly from India’s dependency on China’s essential products, including advanced technology components, telecom and smartphone parts, and pharmaceuticals.
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According to the GTRI report, “India imported $4.2 billion worth of telecom and smartphone parts, accounting for 44 per cent of total imports in this category, indicating significant reliance on Chinese components. Laptops and PCs imports from China totaled $3.8 billion, making up 77.7 per cent of India’s imports in this sector, showcasing a heavy dependence on Chinese technology.”
However, India has taken significant steps to reduce its reliance on China, including production-linked incentive schemes (PLI), antidumping duties, and quality control orders.
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