Due to the lengthy standoff between the forces in eastern Ladakh, 2021 was a year in which India-China relations reached a new low. In the last 12 months, bilateral ties have seen their worst frost in decades. Bilateral trade between India and China was valued at $125.66 billion in 2021, up 43.3 percent from $87.6 billion in 2020.
Regardless of the disputes and military standoffs, according to official figures issued on Friday, bilateral trade between India and China reached a new high of over $100 billion in 2021, surpassing the $100 billion mark in a year, while India’s trade deficit grew to over $69 billion.
According to statistics provided by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) and quoted by the tabloid Global Times on Friday, China’s exports to India in 2021 were $97.52 billion, up 46.2 percent, while China received $28.14 billion worth of commodities from India, up 34.2 percent.
The trade disparity between the two countries remained $69 billion in China’s Favour.
For more than a decade, India has expressed its alarm over China’s rising trade deficit, urging Beijing to open its markets to Indian IT and pharmaceutical companies.
Due to the enormous second wave of COVID-19 and repeated bouts of the virus in India, observers say much of China’s growth in exports to India this year can be ascribed to the import of medical supplies and raw materials for India’s booming pharmaceutical industry.
The historic growth in bilateral trade, which surpassed USD 100 billion, went unnoticed as ties remained tense due to the protracted military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
