March 8, 2018
India-China trade reached a historic high despite bilateral tensions over a number of issues including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Doklam standoff.
Trade between India and China reached a historic high of US$84.44 billion in 2017 despite bilateral tensions over a host of issues, including the Doklam standoff.
The increase in total volume was attributed to a 40 per cent rise in Indian exports to China, worth around US $16.34 billion, as reported by the PTI citing the Chinese General Administration of Customs.
Bilateral trade in 2017 rose by 18.63 per cent year-on-year to reach US$84.44 billion. It is the first time that bilateral trade has increased to above US$80 billion, well above the US$71.18 billion in 2016.
The historic figures comes despite bilateral tensions over a number of issues including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), China blocking India’s efforts to bring about a UN ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar, Beijing blocking India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group as well as the Doklam standoff.
Bilateral trade had stagnated around US$70 billion for several years, despite leaders of both nations setting a US$100 billion target for 2015.
Officials on both sides expect trade and Chinese investments in India to pick up further this year as both governments are trying to scale down tensions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit China in June this year to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Qingdao.