India’s trade with China falls amid slowdown

India-China trade down 0.9% in first half 2023; exports to China down 0.6%. Trade deficit of $47.04B, down from $47.94B in same period last year. China's exports overall down 12.4%, reinforcing fears of slowdown. India-China trade may see rare decline after years of growth, except for pandemic year. India's biggest imports from China include APIs, chemicals, machinery, auto components, medical supplies.

India’s trade with China has declined in the first half of 2023 after more than two years of record growth, part of a broader slump in China’s trade performance that has underlined a sharp slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy

Two-way trade reached $66.02 billion in the first half of the year, data from China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed on July 13. India’s imports from China were down 0.9% to $56.53 billion, while India’s exports to China were down by 0.6% to $9.49 billion.

India’s imports were down from $57.51 billion in the first half of 2022. The trade deficit — the most India has with any country — hasn’t reduced substantially because exports to China also declined due to weak demand. The deficit after the first half of the year stood at $47.04 billion, down from $47.94 billion in the same period last year.

China’s exports overall were down by 12.4% from last year, a decline that exceeded most expectations and will reinforce fears that China’s brief recovery, after emerging in January from three months of harsh COVID policies, is already running out of steam.

India’s trade with China in 2023 may see a rare decline after years of breakneck growth, with the first year of the pandemic being an exception. Trade rebounded to historic highs in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, trade reached a record $135.98 billion, driven by a 21% rise in imports into India. The trade deficit crossed $100 billion for the first time last year. India’s biggest imports from China have included active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), chemicals, machinery, auto components, and medical supplies.