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East Asia

Export to China

Huge market, but mostly for raw materials. Food plants must be registered with GACC; fresh produce needs a protocol.

Capital
Beijing
Currency
CNY
Trade agreement with India
Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA)
China joined APTA in 2001
Main ports
Shanghai, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Shenzhen

India buys far more from China than it sells. What China buys from India is mainly raw and semi-processed material: iron ore, aluminium, copper, organic chemicals, cotton and yarn, marine products, chilli and granite. Consumer goods are hard to sell there. Food exporters must be registered with China's customs (GACC) before shipping.

Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA)

India and China have no bilateral trade agreement. Both are APTA members, which gives small duty cuts on a limited list of goods with an APTA certificate of origin. Check China's tariff for your HS code.

What it buys from India

  • Iron ore, aluminium, copper and other metals
  • Organic chemicals and petroleum products
  • Cotton, cotton yarn and marine products
  • Chilli, spices, granite and vegetable oils

Import rules on their side

  • Overseas makers of food (including seafood and spices) must be registered with GACC through its CIFER system; some categories need registration recommended by India's competent authority (for example EIC or MPEDA).
  • Fresh fruit, vegetables and grains can enter only if China and India have signed a protocol for that product.
  • Packaged food needs Chinese-language labels meeting Chinese national standards; some manufactured goods need CCC certification.

Practical tips

  • The China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai is the main fair for foreign suppliers; India usually has a pavilion.
  • Use an LC confirmed by a good bank and check the buyer carefully; disputes are hard to pursue across the border.
  • Prices are very competitive — focus on raw materials and niche products where India has a natural advantage.
Sources (5)
  1. General Administration of Customs of China (GACC)
  2. GACC — CIFER registration of overseas food manufacturers
  3. China International Import Expo (CIIE)
  4. WTO — Regional Trade Agreements database
  5. Department of Commerce — TradeStat export-import data bank

Trade data

India’s exports to China in numbers

From the Department of Commerce’s TradeStat (Indian financial years, April–March), the country’s imports from the world from UN Comtrade, and its basics from the World Bank.

India’s exports here, 2025-26
US$ 19.5 bn
No. 3 of our 80 countries
Change from 2024-25
↑ +36.6%
US$ 14.3 bn → US$ 19.5 bn
Share of all Indian exports
4.41%
Its imports from the world
US$ 2,585.1 bn
2024 · India’s share 0.7%
2020-21: US$ 21.2 bn21k2020-212021-22: US$ 21.3 bn21k2021-222022-23: US$ 15.3 bn15k2022-23n/a2023-242024-25: US$ 14.3 bn14k2024-252025-26: US$ 19.5 bn19k2025-26
India’s exports to China, year by year · US$ million · TradeStat’s 2023-24 country table is double-counted, so it is not shown

What India sells here most

By HS chapter, 2025-26. Change is against 2024-25.

Name2025-26Change
1Electrical and electronicsHS 85US$ 3.18 bn+277.2%
2Fuels and petroleum productsHS 27US$ 2.46 bn+94%
3OresHS 26US$ 1.8 bn-7.5%
4Fish and seafoodHS 03US$ 1.37 bn+25.7%
5Organic chemicalsHS 29US$ 1.34 bn+6.3%
6MachineryHS 84US$ 1.26 bn+8.8%
7Salt, stone, cementHS 25US$ 874 mn+11.3%
8Fats and oilsHS 15US$ 769 mn-11.2%
9CopperHS 74US$ 761 mn+106.9%
10Feathers, artificial flowers, wigsHS 67US$ 494 mn+5.3%
11CottonHS 52US$ 493 mn+108.9%
12Coffee, tea, spicesHS 09US$ 451 mn-31%

What is rising and what is falling

Chapters where India sells at least US$ 5 million. Change from 2024-25 to 2025-26.

High demand

  1. Ships and boatsUS$ 10k → US$ 161 mn+16,11,300%
  2. Electrical and electronicsUS$ 843 mn → US$ 3.18 bn+277.2%
  3. Animal feed and food residuesUS$ 130 mn → US$ 371 mn+185.8%
  4. CottonUS$ 236 mn → US$ 493 mn+108.9%
  5. CopperUS$ 368 mn → US$ 761 mn+106.9%
  6. Inorganic chemicalsUS$ 81.6 mn → US$ 163 mn+100.3%
  7. VegetablesUS$ 122 mn → US$ 239 mn+96%
  8. Fuels and petroleum productsUS$ 1.27 bn → US$ 2.46 bn+94%

Low demand

  1. Coffee, tea, spicesUS$ 654 mn → US$ 451 mn-31%
  2. PlasticsUS$ 276 mn → US$ 201 mn-27.2%
  3. Fats and oilsUS$ 867 mn → US$ 769 mn-11.2%

Opportunity: what this country buys from the world, and from India

The country’s own recorded imports in UN Comtrade, 2024. Chapters with the biggest gap between what it buys from the world and what it buys from India.

Electrical and electronicsUS$ 583.9 bnIndia 0.2% · gap US$ 582.5 bn
Fuels and petroleum productsUS$ 504 bnIndia 0.1% · gap US$ 503.6 bn
OresUS$ 251.1 bnIndia 1.4% · gap US$ 247.5 bn
MachineryUS$ 229.1 bnIndia 0.5% · gap US$ 227.9 bn
Gems, jewellery, precious metalsUS$ 118.9 bnIndia 0.7% · gap US$ 118 bn
Instruments, medical devicesUS$ 74.9 bnIndia 0.3% · gap US$ 74.6 bn
CopperUS$ 72.6 bnIndia 0.6% · gap US$ 72.1 bn
Vehicles and partsUS$ 62.2 bnIndia 0.3% · gap US$ 62 bn
Oilseeds and seedsUS$ 61.5 bnIndia 0.1% · gap US$ 61.5 bn
PlasticsUS$ 61.1 bnIndia 0.7% · gap US$ 60.7 bn

Our product guides that sell here

India’s exports of each product to this country, 2025-26.

Name2025-26Change
1Frozen shrimpUS$ 942 mn+28.9%
2Castor oilUS$ 516 mn+1.4%
3Human hair and wigsUS$ 494 mn+5.3%
4Cotton yarnUS$ 457 mn+111.6%
5SpicesUS$ 402 mn-35%
6Aluminium productsUS$ 385 mn+86.7%
7Granite and stone blocksUS$ 372 mn+16.6%
8ChilliUS$ 361 mn-19.7%
9Bulk drugs (APIs)US$ 323 mn-12.3%
10Diesel enginesUS$ 311 mn+13.3%
11Frozen fishUS$ 304 mn+14.1%
12Fresh vegetablesUS$ 239 mn+96%

The 20 biggest export lines

4-digit HS lines, 2025-26, with their Harmonized System descriptions.

Name2025-26Change
1Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, not crudeHS 2710US$ 2.46 bn+94.6%
2Telephone sets, including smartphones and other telephones for cellular/wireless networksHS 8517US$ 2.43 bn+446.3%
3Iron ores and concentratesHS 2601US$ 1.59 bn-15.7%
4CrustaceansHS 0306US$ 984 mn+27.3%
5CopperHS 7403US$ 526 mn+96.9%
6Fixed vegetable or microbial fats and oils in chapter 15 and their fractions, whether or not refined, but…HS 1515US$ 517 mn+1.4%
7Human hair, dressed, thinned, bleached or otherwise workedHS 6703US$ 494 mn+5.3%
8Cotton yarn, containing 85% or more by weight of cotton, not put up for retail saleHS 5205US$ 457 mn+111.6%
9AluminiumHS 7601US$ 384 mn+87.5%
10Pepper of the genus piperHS 0904US$ 362 mn-19.8%
11Granite, porphyry, basalt, sandstone, other monumental and building stone, whether or not roughly trimmed…HS 2516US$ 347 mn+14.7%
12Compression-ignition internal combustion piston enginesHS 8408US$ 311 mn+13.3%
13Cyclic hydrocarbonsHS 2902US$ 308 mn+42.7%
14FishHS 0303US$ 288 mn+12.9%
15Flat panel display modules, whether or not incorporating touch-sensitive screensHS 8524US$ 254 mn+5,111.9%
16Vegetables, leguminousHS 0713US$ 235 mn+97.6%
17Ground nut oil and its fractionsHS 1508US$ 211 mn-39.5%
18Sulphur of all kindsHS 2503US$ 211 mn+87.3%
19Oil-cake and other solid residuesHS 2306US$ 195 mn+1,146.2%
20Heterocyclic compounds with nitrogen hetero-atom onlyHS 2933US$ 188 mn-0.3%

What India buys from China

India’s imports from this country in 2025-26 by HS chapter, from TradeStat — this country can be your supplier too.

India’s imports, 2025-26
US$ 131.6 bn
US$ 113.4 bn → US$ 131.6 bn
India’s exports, 2025-26
US$ 19.5 bn
Trade balance
−US$ 112.1 bn
exports minus imports
Change in imports
+16%
Name2025-26Change
1Electrical and electronicsHS 85—+21.9%
2MachineryHS 84—+13.6%
3Organic chemicalsHS 29—+0.4%
4PlasticsHS 39—+5.9%
5Vehicles and partsHS 87—+34.4%
6Instruments, medical devicesHS 90—+7.4%
7AluminiumHS 76—+29.7%
8Iron and steel articlesHS 73—+12.1%
9FertilisersHS 31—+166.8%
10Other chemical productsHS 38—+28.9%

The country at a glance

Population
1.41 bn
2025
GDP
US$ 19,498 bn
2025
GDP per person
US$ 13,862
2025
Imports (goods and services)
US$ 3,292.3 bn
2025

Sources: TradeStat — Export Import Data Bank, Department of Commerce · UN Comtrade database (United Nations Statistics Division) · World Bank — World Development Indicators · Figures taken 29 October 2026.

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