<p>New Delhi: India’s trade relationship with China is becoming increasingly one-sided, with the trade deficit surging by 155% in five years, as imports more than doubled during the period, while exports struggle to recover.</p>.<p>During the financial year ended March 2026, India’s imports from China rose to $131.6 billion, up from $65.2 billion in 2020-21. By contrast, India’s exports to China in 2025-26 stood at $19.5 billion — still below the $21.2 billion in 2020-21.</p>.<p>India’s trade deficit with China widened from $44 billion in 2020-21, to $112.1 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2026, an increase of 155% in five years.</p>.<p>“India’s trade with China is no longer just a deficit story; it is a production-dependence story,” said Global Trade Research Initiative Founder Ajay Srivastava. More worrying is the composition: 98.5% of imports from China are industrial goods, and four sectors — electronics, machinery, computers and organic chemicals — alone account for $82.6 billion, as per Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics data for CY2025.</p>.Bengaluru dominates country's startup scene in Q1 2026.<p>While China represents about 16% of India’s total imports, its dominance is far-more pronounced in industrial goods, where it supplies 30.8% of India’s needs. The concentration within sectors is even sharper. About 66% of India’s imports from China — valued at $82.6 billion — are clustered in electronics, machinery, computers, and organic chemicals.</p>.<p>China accounts for 43% of India’s electronics imports, 40% of machinery and computer imports, and 44% of organic chemicals. These are not discretionary purchases, but core inputs that feed directly into India’s manufacturing ecosystem, GTRI said.</p>.<p>“Indian industry relies heavily on Chinese inputs — electronics parts, EV batteries, solar modules, APIs and specialty chemicals — that are hard to replace at scale. As a result, even as India tries to grow exports, its supply chains remain tied to China,” it said.</p>
<p>New Delhi: India’s trade relationship with China is becoming increasingly one-sided, with the trade deficit surging by 155% in five years, as imports more than doubled during the period, while exports struggle to recover.</p>.<p>During the financial year ended March 2026, India’s imports from China rose to $131.6 billion, up from $65.2 billion in 2020-21. By contrast, India’s exports to China in 2025-26 stood at $19.5 billion — still below the $21.2 billion in 2020-21.</p>.<p>India’s trade deficit with China widened from $44 billion in 2020-21, to $112.1 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2026, an increase of 155% in five years.</p>.<p>“India’s trade with China is no longer just a deficit story; it is a production-dependence story,” said Global Trade Research Initiative Founder Ajay Srivastava. More worrying is the composition: 98.5% of imports from China are industrial goods, and four sectors — electronics, machinery, computers and organic chemicals — alone account for $82.6 billion, as per Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics data for CY2025.</p>.Bengaluru dominates country's startup scene in Q1 2026.<p>While China represents about 16% of India’s total imports, its dominance is far-more pronounced in industrial goods, where it supplies 30.8% of India’s needs. The concentration within sectors is even sharper. About 66% of India’s imports from China — valued at $82.6 billion — are clustered in electronics, machinery, computers, and organic chemicals.</p>.<p>China accounts for 43% of India’s electronics imports, 40% of machinery and computer imports, and 44% of organic chemicals. These are not discretionary purchases, but core inputs that feed directly into India’s manufacturing ecosystem, GTRI said.</p>.<p>“Indian industry relies heavily on Chinese inputs — electronics parts, EV batteries, solar modules, APIs and specialty chemicals — that are hard to replace at scale. As a result, even as India tries to grow exports, its supply chains remain tied to China,” it said.</p>
