How China’s silver export controls could turn into strategic concerns for India

artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and electronics to solar power equipment, medical devices and defence systems.China’s dominance in the silver market does not stem from mining strength but from its overwhelming control over refining. According to the London Bullion Market Association’s (LBMA) list of accredited refiners for global over-the-counter trading, China hosts 27 silver refineries, followed by Japan with 13.

That puts it far ahead of Germany, Canada, India, and Switzerland, which have just four facilities each.This concentration of refining capacity effectively positions China as the gatekeeper of global refined silver supply, even though it is not the world’s largest miner of the metal.The model is straightforward: China imports silver ore and base metal concentrates, refines them domestically, and exports the finished product. As the World Silver Survey 2025 by US-based The Silver Institute notes, “China has traditionally been a net exporter of silver due to the metal's structural oversupply in the local market...fuel(l)ed by large volumes of refined silver recovered from imported base metal concentrates.”Official data from China’s General Administration of Customs underscore this imbalance.

Over the past two years, silver exports have consistently outpaced imports, with monthly export values rising to about $887 million in October 2025, compared with imports of roughly $50 million in the same month.For India, the move could have tangible implications as silver’s role expands in solar energy and electronics manufacturing. Trade data for April-November 2025 shows that Hong Kong and China together accounted for about 40% of India’s silver imports.