India’s trade with China soared 62% in H1

Bilateral trade in first six months hits $57.48 bn, surpasses pre-pandemic levels

India’s trade with China in the first half of 2021 rose by a record 62.7% — the highest increase among China’s major trade partners — with total two-way trade surpassing the pre-pandemic levels. Two-way trade after six months was $57.48 billion, the highest on record for the first half. Bilateral trade surged from the year-earlier period, when trade slumped amid the pandemic, and surpassed the $44.72 billion pre-pandemic figure recorded in the first half of 2019, according to data released on Tuesday by China’s General Administration of Customs. India’s imports, driven by record purchases of medical supplies, reached $42.76 billion this year, up 60.4% and higher than the first-half 2019 figure of $35.8 billion.