India’s trade with China set to cross $100 billion in 2021, almost 30% up pre-pandemic trading levels

xizhimen · Oct 13, 2021

India’s trade with China set to cross $100 billion in 2021, almost 30% up pre-pandemic trading levels

OCTOBER 13, 2021 19:43 IST

India imports mechanical and electrical machinery in large quantities from China. | Photo Credit: RAJESH N

India’s trade with China is set to cross the $100 billion mark for the first time in 2021, with two-way trade after three quarters reaching $90 billion, almost 30% up pre-pandemic trading levels.

Figures released on Wednesday by China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed that two-way trade after nine months reached $90.37 billion, up 49.3% year-on-year. India’s imports from China reached $68.4 billion, up 51.7% year-on-year, while India’s exports amounted to $21. 9 billion, up 42.5%.

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 annually are iron ore, cotton, and other raw material-based commodities. India imports mechanical and electrical machinery in large quantities from China, while imports of medical supplies have soared in the past two years.

Chinese trade officials attributed China’s overall trade performance after three quarters to the country’s economic recovery as well stronger global demand.

Figures with India were among the fastest-growing for China’s major trading partners. China’s total trade was up 22.7% year-on-year, while bilateral figures with the three biggest trading partners, ASEAN, the EU and the U.S., were up 21.1%, 20.5%, and and 24.9% respectively.

The GAC said Chinese exports of mechanical and electrical products, as well as medicine and medicinal materials, grew particularly robustly. Medicine and medicinal material exports were up 108%.