NEW DELHI – India’s exports of goods to China have grown by 20% over the first four months of the current financial year (April-July 2025), which is a big change from the way things have been going for a long time. This is a big change from the 14.5% drop in shipments to China for the whole 2024–25 fiscal year. The $5.76 billion gain is making some hopeful that it could help lessen some of the economic damage done by recent U.S. tariffs.
Exports have grown by double digits every month since April, when they increased by 12.9%, May, when they climbed by 24%, June, when they grew by 17%, and July, when they grew by 27%. The rise is mostly due to a rise in demand for Indian electronics, agricultural items, and petroleum products.
Petroleum Products: Exports almost doubled, going from $883 million to $883 million.
Exports of electronic goods rose by an amazing 202.7% to $521 million, showing that there is a lot of demand for these goods in both China’s industrial and consumer sectors.
Agricultural Commodities: This sector enjoyed “extraordinary growth,” with exports of oil meals, rice, and oil seeds showing increases of three and four times their normal rates.
This good export performance comes at the same time as a thaw in diplomatic relations between the two countries. After Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent trip to New Delhi, the two countries agreed to reopen border trade at three specific areas. Both countries also agreed to take “concrete steps” to make it easier for commerce and investment to flow.
Trade officials, who asked to remain anonymous, said that both India and China “want to improve their economic ties with each other because of the uncertainty in global trade caused by the U.S.” The initiative to deepen commercial ties is considered as a strategic response to President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, which include a 25% duty on Indian exports that will go up to 50% on August 27.
Even while things are going well, India still has a huge trade deficit with China. The deficit hit a record high of $99.2 billion in the 2024–25 fiscal year. India only exported $14.25 billion worth of goods, while it imported $113.45 billion worth of goods from China. However, the present rise is a “promising development” that could help India diversify its export base and rely less on a narrow number of export customers.