China becomes India's top trading partner in FY 2024 | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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China becomes India's top trading partner in FY 2024

Posted 14 May 2024

2 min read

According to the think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India's bilateral trade with China reached at $118.4 billion in the fiscal year 2024.

  • China replaced the United States (US) which was India’s top trading partner during FY22 and FY23.
  • GTRI’s Report also highlighted that Between FY19 and FY24, India’s exports to China witnessed a marginal decline in exports by 0.6%, while imports from China surged by 44.7 %. 

Concerns related to rising import Dependence on China

  • National Security: Trade can be used as a tool to exert political pressure on India or advance its strategic interests.
    • It complicates efforts to address border disputes effectively.
    • Reliance on Chinese technology and equipment in critical sectors such as telecom will make more vulnerable to cyber warfare
  • China’s share in India's electronics sector import (including telecom) is about 43.9%.
  • Strategic autonomy: Constrains India’s ability to counter Chinese influence in neighbourhood (e.g. South Asia and Indian Ocean region). 
  • Supply chain vulnerability: India’s pharmaceutical sector is highly dependent on China’s Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). 
  • Other: Stifle the growth of domestic industries as they are not able to compete with low-cost import, etc. 

 

Initiatives taken to reduce Dependency on China

  • Make in India initiative
  • Production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for domestic manufacturing capacities in critical sectors like Medical devices, electronic components, etc.
  • Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks, reducing import dependency for APIs
  • Imposing Anti-dumping duties
  • Tags :
  • India’s largest trading partner
  • India- China
  • Import Dependency over China
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