India’s imports from China increased to a record $12.5 billion last month, largely fueled by Apple suppliers shifting iPhone production from China to India. However, the production is moving to India but these companies remain heavily dependent upon Chinese parts, and tooling imports from Beijing have increased. Not only this, in July 2025 alone, India’s imports from China amounted to around $! Billion worth of Computer chips.
According to the Data released by Beijing, Chinese exports to India this year are on track to surpass last year’s record, with the value of shipments so far almost matching the total for 2021.
India’s imports from China in numbers
According to the Indian Embassy in Beijing, Indian imports from China in 2024-25 aggregated around $113.46 billion, whereas Indian exports to China stood at $14.25 billion, leaving a shortfall of $99.21 billion. This imbalance has steadily expanded over the past decade.
In addition, India’s cumulative imports from China have increased from $60.41 billion in 2014-15 to $113.46 billion in 2024-25. However, Exports to China have remained low and temporary, hovering between $9 billion and $21 billion over the same period. Notably, India’s exports have largely been raw-material based, including iron ore, light naphtha, p-xylene, shrimps, and castor oil over the last five years. Moreover, Chinese exports have increasingly dominated Indian markets with electronics, machinery, personal computers, monolithic integrated circuits, telecommunication equipment, lithium-ion batteries, and fertilisers.
Shifts in Global Trade expand China’s influence
The export surge emerged amid Trump-era tariffs that restricted China’s access to the US market. Chinese manufacturers have increased their presence in alternative markets, such as India, Southeast Asia, and Africa, despite US tariffs.