India’s trade with China is set to cross the $100 billion mark for the first time in 2021, with shipments hitting $90 billion after three quarters, an almost 30% jump from pre-pandemic levels.
Data from China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed two-way trade jumped 49% in the first nine months to $90.37 billion. India’s imports from China surged 51.7% to $68.4 billion, while India’s exports rose 42.5% to $21.9 billion.
Two-way trade was substantially higher than pre-pandemic levels, with bilateral trade up 29.7% compared to the same period in 2019, with India’s imports up 21.5% and exports to China up 64.5%.
India’s biggest exports to China are iron ore, cotton, and other raw material-based commodities. India imports mechanical and electrical machinery in large quantities, while imports of medical supplies have soared in the past two years.
Chinese trade officials attributed China’s overall trade performance to the country’s economic recovery as well stronger global demand.
The growth in trade with India was among the fastest for China’s major trading partners. While China’s total trade rose 22.7%, that with its biggest trading partners, ASEAN, the EU and the U.S., rose 21.1%, 20.5% and 24.9%, respectively.
The GAC said Chinese exports of mechanical and electrical products, as well as medicinal materials, grew robustly. Medicine and medicinal material exports more than doubled.
