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Strategic Lens

Supply chains and manufacturing: India and China

First country

Second country

In 2025, India sold USD 1.55 billion of machinery, vehicles and iron and steel to China and bought USD 35.9 billion from it.

Benefits

  • BothTwo-way trade in machinery, vehicles and iron and steel grew 109 percent, from USD 17.9 billion in 2019 to USD 37.5 billion in 2025.

Constraints

  • BothFlows are one-sided: in 2025, China sold USD 35.9 billion of machinery, vehicles and iron and steel, against USD 1.55 billion the other way.

Sources: UN Comtrade (public preview API), annual goods trade, HS classification (retrieved 26 September 2026)

Last updated on 26 September 2026

The numbers

India's exports to China: machinery, vehicles and iron and steel

USD billion · 2019 to 2025, calendar years, as reported by India

2019: 1.49Low 1.49 / High 3.232025: 1.55

20191.49
20203.23
20212.67
20221.58
20231.59
20241.5
20251.55

Sources: UN Comtrade (public preview API), annual goods trade, HS classification (retrieved 26 September 2026)

Data retrieved 26 September 2026

India's imports from China: machinery, vehicles and iron and steel

USD billion · 2019 to 2025, calendar years, as reported by India

2019: 16.42Low 14.41 / High 35.952025: 35.95

201916.42
202014.41
202121.7
202225.5
202329.2
202432.06
202535.95

Sources: UN Comtrade (public preview API), annual goods trade, HS classification (retrieved 26 September 2026)

Data retrieved 26 September 2026

More on this relationship

Constraints

  • IndiaChina's export curbs reportedly covered tunnel boring machines, and it reportedly recalled over 300 engineers from a Foxconn plant in India in July 2025.
  • IndiaIndia has sought other partners, including Taiwan, the US, South Korea and Japan, to reduce this reliance.

Sources: Wikipedia: China–India relations (revision of 23 September 2026)

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