US Again Overtakes China As India's Largest Trading Partner

For the second year in a row, the United States has overtaken China as India's largest trading partner, moving China to second place. According to preliminary data from the Ministry of Commerce, commerce between India and the US increased by 7.65 per cent in the years 2022–2023, reaching USD 128.55 billion, up from USD 119.5 billion in 2021–2022 and USD 80.51 billion in 2020–2021—the year China was India's biggest trading partner.

In contrast, India's bilateral trade with China dropped from USD 115.42 billion in 2021–22 to USD 113.83 billion in 2022–23, a 1.5 per cent decline.

Experts in strategic and international trade see the trade figures as a modest but important step towards reducing India's reliance on Chinese imports. This step, in their opinion, was urgently needed given New Delhi's excessive reliance on Chinese imports, its ongoing trade deficit with China, and the unstable circumstances along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

"This is fantastic news! Small but observable decoupling from China has already started. Recoupling with the US is gaining momentum; it is a better partner in all areas, including the economics, diaspora, and strategic issues" according to tweets from Gautam Chikermane, vice president of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), based in New Delhi.