New Delhi, November 24
India-China trade has crossed the $100 billion-mark in the first nine months of the current calendar year, said Chinese Foreign Minister. India, however, has maintained that bilateral trade has not crossed the $100 billion-mark and stood at $91 billion.
Data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed that its exports to India stood at $89.99 billion and imports were at $13.97 billion, leaving a trade deficit of whopping $76 billion. India’s exports have, however, declined by 36.4%.
Last year, India-China bilateral trade had touched $125 billion but the trade deficit for India stood at $69.38 billion in 2021. In other words, the trade deficit for the first nine months of the year has already crossed the trade deficit recorded for full 2021. China’s exports then were $97.52 billion and India’s exports to China $28.14 billion.
In certain cases, the increase in imports from China has helped the Indian industry add value and then export it to other countries. This has been especially the case of the pharma industry and certain export-oriented segments of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which get semi-processed raw material at cheapest rates globally.
