Beijing: The bilateral trade between India and China declined by about USD three billion in 2019 while India’s trade deficit continues to be high amounting to USD 56.77 billion as both countries experienced economic slowdown.
The trade figures released by the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) projected Tuesday the total trade in Chinese currency RMB-Yuan terms registered a marginal increase of 1.6 per cent year on year but in dollar terms it was down by about USD three billion.
GACC Vice Minister Zou Zhiwu, who released the annual trade figures to the media, said China-India bilateral trade totalled to 639.52 billion yuan (about USD 92.68) which is 1.6 per cent increase year on year.
China’s exports to India increased by 2.1 per cent last year totalling to 515.63 billion yuan while India’s imports to China decreased by 0.2 per cent totalling to 123.89 billion yuan, informed Zhiwu. The trade deficit for India in 2019 was USD 391.74 billion yuan, he said.
However, in dollar terms the trade has declined. The bilateral trade in 2018 totalled to USD 95.7 billion raising hopes of India-China trade touching the landmark USD 100 billion in 2019. But the total trade amounted to USD 92.68 billion last year about USD three billion less than 2018.
The Chinese exports in dollar terms to India last year amounted to USD 74.72 billion compared to USD 76.87 in 2018. India’s exports to China amounted to USD 17.95 billion against USD 18.83 billion last year.
In the face of slacking trade, the trade deficit also declined from USD 58.04 in 2018 to USD 56.77 billion.
The declining trade was largely attributed to the slowdown of the economies of the two countries.
PTI
