Despite Doklam stand-off, India-China bilateral trade crosses $84 billion

New Delhi: The tension between India and China greatly increased because of the Doklam stand-off last year. China has warned that there will be incidents similar to the Doklam stand-off, even this year. Despite the relations of the two countries getting tense, the bilateral trade crossed $84 billion. India suffers a trade deficit of about $52 billion in this trade. In spite of reaping so much benefit from the trade, China is seen to be unwilling to open its markets for the Indian IT and Pharmaceutical companies.

China threatened India of dire consequences, during the Doklam dispute. China is still continuing to threaten India. But it is apparent that if this affects the bilateral trade, it will be China who will suffer a major loss. In the year 2017, the total trade was pegged at a staggering $84.44 billion and was at $70 billion in the previous year. There was more than 18% rise in this trade in the year 2017. At the same time, the trade deficit borne by India has also increased.

The Chinese exports to India have crossed $68 billion. Whereas, the Indian exports to China are limited to a mere $16.34 billion. Therefore, India suffered a trade deficit of approximately $51.75 billion. The trade deficit increased by 8.55% over the previous year. This has come forward from the figures published by China. It is said that the actual trade deficit suffered by India is more than the figures published by China.

India is the 7th largest export market for China. Even so, it is seen that China is not willing to grant any trade concessions to India. China is especially reluctant to open the market for the Indian IT and Pharmaceutical companies. India has been demanding this from China for more than a decade. But China has not been willing to consider it. If the companies from these sectors are allowed entry in China, the imbalance in the trade between the two countries can be corrected. However, China seems disinterested in this.