China regained its position as the top trade partner of India in the year 2020. This is even after the steps being taken to curb commerce with Beijing after the border conflict.
Key Points
- According to the provisional data from the commerce ministry of India, two-way trade between India and China stood at $77.7 billion in the last year.
- This is lower than the previous year’s trade of $85.5 billion but still made China the top commercial partner of India replacing the US.
- The bilateral trade with the US stood at $75.9 billion.
- Although India has slowed approvals for investments from China and banned hundreds of Chinese apps after a clash along their disputed Himalayan border, India still continues to rely heavily on Chinese-made heavy machinery, home appliances, and telecom equipment.
- The bilateral trade gap with China was at almost $40 billion in the year 2020, making it India’s largest.
- Total imports from China at $58.7 billion were more than India’s combined purchases from the U.S. and the U.A.E.
- The US and the UAE are the second-and third-largest trade partners of India respectively.
India has managed to increase its exports to China by around 11% from a year ago to $19 billion last year. Thus, any further worsening of ties with China will be a threat to New Delhi’s export revenue.