China’s share in India’s industrial product imports has significantly increased from 21 per cent to 30 per cent over the last 15 years, according to a recent report by Indian think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
This growth in imports from China, has been much faster than India’s overall import growth, with China’s exports to India growing 2.3 times faster than India’s total imports from all other countries, the report, titled ‘An Examination of India’s Growing Industrial Sector Imports from China’, said.
India’s import of industrial goods from China soared by 215.3 per cent, rising from $25.3 billion during 2007-10 to $79.7 billion in 2020-22. In contrast, India’s imports from the rest of the world grew by only 94.5 per cent.
India imports 30 per cent of industrial goods from China. In fiscal 2023-24, India’s total merchandise imports amounted to $677.2 billion, with $101.8 billion of that coming from China. This implies China accounted for 15 per cent of India’s total imports.
However, out of such imports, $100 billion, or 98.5 per cent, was in major industrial product categories. When compared to India’s global imports of these industrial products, which total $337 billion, China’s contribution is quite significant, representing 30 per cent of India’s imports in this sector. Fifteen years ago, China’s share was just 21 per cent, the report noted.
The data for India’s industrial sector imports from April 2023 to January 2024 illustrates a significant reliance on imports from China across various sectors. The total import value for this period stands at $281.5 billion, with imports from China accounting for $84.5 billion, or approximately 30 per cent of the total imports.
The textile and clothing sector saw imports worth $7.6 billion between April 2023 and January 2024, with a significant 42 per cent ($3.2 billion) coming from China, indicating a major reliance on Chinese textiles and garments.