India’s exports to China rose sharply in December 2025, reflecting an improvement in bilateral ties between the two Asian neighbours, according to official data released this week.
Figures from the Commerce Ministry showed that shipments to China jumped 67.35 per cent year-on-year in December. Exports to China increased to $2.04 billion, driven mainly by electronics, marine products, and agricultural goods, reports said.
Imports from China, India’s second-largest trading partner after the United States, also rose during the month. Purchases climbed 20 per cent to $11.7 billion, highlighting the growing scale of trade between the two countries. With total trade worth $110.20 billion between April and December 2025, China emerged as India’s largest goods trading partner, overtaking the US, which recorded trade of $105.31 billion during the same period.
The surge in exports to China came at a time when India’s shipments to the US faced pressure. Exports to the US declined 1.8 per cent to $6.8 billion in December after Washington imposed a 50 per cent tariff, according to CNBC. The tariff was introduced in August 2025, with part of it linked to India’s purchases of Russian oil, which New Delhi has defended as being in its national interest.
India-China ties have shown signs of improvement in recent months. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in September last year, where both sides agreed to enhance cooperation. Direct flights between the two countries resumed in October 2025 after a five-year gap, and China eased visa rules for Indian nationals in December.
