India's trade deficit with China stands at $37 billion in April-October

NEW DELHI: India's trade deficit with China stood at USD 36.73 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal (April-October) compared to USD 51.11 billion in the financial year 2016-17, Parliament was informed today.

The bilateral trade between India and China stood at USD 50.19 billion during the April-October period, as against USD 71.45 billion in the entire 2016-17, according to the provisional data for April-October placed in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Commerce & Industry C R Chaudhary.

"Increasing trade deficit with China can be attributed primarily to the fact that Chinese exports to India rely strongly on manufactured items to meet the demand of fast expanding sectors like telecom and power, while India's exports to China are characterised by primary and intermediate products," Chaudhary said.


According to official data, Chinese FDI in India, though growing, has been insignificant compared to its total investment overseas. China presently ranks 17th in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into India. The cumulative inflows from China since April 2000 to September 2017 stood at USD 1.73 billion.