Sino-India trade rises despite chill in bilateral ties, crosses $57 billion in H1 – Times of India

The growth represents an increase of 22.8 percent from pre-pandemic levels in 2019. (representative image)

BEIJING: Sino-India bilateral trade totaled $57.48 billion in the first half of the year, an increase of 62.7 percent year-on-year, according to data released by China, the highest in recent years amid the Ladakh standoff and the COVID-19 pandemic. is. Custom.
Although Indian exports to China grew at 69.6 per cent year-on-year, the trade deficit, which had long been a structural problem for India, climbed to 55.6 per cent.
According to data released by China Customs, India’s exports to China reached $14.724 billion, up 69.6 percent annually in the first six months and India’s imports from China grew by 60.4 percent to $42.755 billion.
According to customs data, China’s total trade grew 27.1 percent year-on-year to 18.07 trillion yuan (about $2.79 trillion) in the first half of the year.
The growth represents an increase of 22.8 percent from pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Exports jumped 28.1 percent from a year ago, while imports climbed 25.9 percent in yuan terms.
According to official sources, the trade deficit stood at $28.03 billion in the first six months of the year, an increase of 55.6 per cent year-on-year.
But trade figures were considered equally important as India-China relations between the two armies were stuck in a standoff in eastern Ladakh since May last year.
While the Covid-19 second wave has resulted in a large increase in China’s exports, especially oxygen concentrators, ventilators, monitors and medical materials and medicines, India’s exports to China have been fueled by growth in iron ore, steel, aluminum and copper . .
From January to April this year, China imported a total of 20.28 million tonnes of iron ore from India, an increase of about 66 per cent over the same period last year, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of India’s total iron ore exports. State-run Global Times reported.
It cited data released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry that China had exported more than 26,000 ventilators and oxygen generators, more than 15,000 monitors and about 3,800 tonnes of medical supplies and medicines to India in April.
Last year, India-China trade totaled $77.67 billion, down from $85.47 billion in 2019.