How India can fix the Chinese imports problem

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India last month extended countervailing duties of 12-30% on certain steel imports from China and Vietnam, following requests from local producers to safeguard against cheaper imports. While this stance against Chinese goods is notable, data indicates that overall imports from China are still on the rise, while exports to the country are faltering.

The trade imbalance between India and China has widened post-pandemic. In the first four months of FY25, India’s exports were only 12.4% of its imports from China, down from 15.4% in the same period last year. This is the lowest export-import ratio in at least a decade, barring the pandemic year, highlighting India's increasing dependence on Chinese goods.

Read this | Mint Primer | China’s stimulus: What it spells for India & the world A growing economy like India’s naturally requires more imports to meet rising consumption and manufacturing demand, with cost and quality playing a key role in sourcing. China continues to be a preferred supplier. “When the economy is growing, you require more imports.

You import from the best place that gives you the quality and price, and China seems to be qualifying on both of them," said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. In the absence of sufficient domestic substitutes, China also serves as a key supplier of cheaper raw materials in sectors like electronics and pharmaceutical APIs, which are critical for domestic production and position India as an assembly hub for finished goods. China's dominance in India’s import basket is striking, accounting for 15%—up from around 12% a decade ago.