India-China bilateral trade has increased by 15.3 per cent to over $31 billion in the first quarter of this year, according to trade data released by the Chinese Customs on Wednesday, despite strained relations due to the prolonged military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
During the three-month period from January to March, China’s exports to India increased to $27.1 billion.
The upward trend seemed to be continuing as the bilateral trade in the first quarter of 2022 totalled to $31.96 billion, an increase of 15.3 per cent compared with the same period last year, state-run Global Times quoted trade data released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC).
Between January to March this year, the trade deficit mounted to $22.23 billion as China’s exports to India reached $27.1 billion – over five times – while imports totalled $4.87 billion, the report said.
Last year, the India-China bilateral trade hit a record high of over $125 billion.
