India, China trade crosses $100 billion during Jan-Sept; trade deficit climbs to over $75 billion

India and China bilateral trade continued to boom, crossing USD 100 billion for the second year in the first nine months of 2022 while India's trade deficit climbed to over USD 75 billion, according to trade data released by Chinese customs. The total bilateral trade, amidst the military standoff in eastern Ladakh, went up to USD 103.63 billion, registering a 14.6 percent increase compared to last year during the same period.

China's exports to India climbed to USD 89.66 billion, registering an increase of 31 percent, data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) said. However, India's exports in the past nine months stood at USD 13.97 billion, registering a decline of 36.4 percent. As a result, the total trade deficit went up to over USD 75.69 billion.

Last year, the India-China bilateral trade hit a record high of over USD 125 billion crossing the USD 100 billion mark in a year when the relations touched a new low due to the standoff by the militaries in eastern Ladakh.

Last year, China's exports to India went up by 46.2 percent to USD 97.52 billion while India's exports to China grew by 34.2 percent to USD 28.14 billion. The trade deficit for India stood at USD 69.38 billion in 2021.