China’s share in India’s export and import basket has surged over a year after calls emerged for boycott of Chinese goods in the aftermath of the India-China standoff and the subsequent push by the Narendra Modi government for ‘Atmanirbharta’ (self-sufficiency) push, trade data shows.
But this surge may be short-lived, experts say, pointing to the impending opening up of factories around the world.
Exports and imports between India and China grew at over 65 per cent in the January-June period, trade data sourced from official agencies in both countries shows.
The surge came despite calls to boycott Chinese goods made after the 15 June Galwan clash at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. Since then, the Modi government has also been trying to encourage local production and discourage imports through higher import duties.
Its share in India’s total exports rose two percentage points to 7.3 per cent in 2020-21 from 5.3 per cent in 2019-20, shows data from the Indian commerce ministry, and the Chinese government’s trade data dissemination body.
Similarly, China’s share in India’s total imports has also surged, increasing by 3 percentage points and crossing 16 per cent in 2020-21 after seeing a dip in the previous two years. Its share was at 16.6 per cent in 2020-21, as against 13.7 per cent in both 2019-20 and 2018-19.
Trade data for the current fiscal shows that this trend is continuing as India battles the second wave of the pandemic.
