China becomes India’s top trading partner in FY26 as trade deficit widens
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China has overtaken the United States to become India’s largest trading partner in 2025-26, with total bilateral trade reaching $151.1 billion, according to government data.
The shift comes after the US held the top position for four consecutive years until 2024-25. India’s trade deficit with China also widened sharply to $112.16 billion during the last fiscal year.
India’s exports to China rose 36.66 percent to $19.47 billion, while imports increased 16 percent to $131.63 billion. This pushed the trade gap to a record high, up from $99.2 billion in 2024-25.
In comparison, trade with the US showed slower growth. India’s exports to the US rose marginally by 0.92 percent to $87.3 billion, while imports grew 15.95 percent to $52.9 billion. The trade surplus with the US declined to $34.4 billion from $40.89 billion in the previous year.
China had earlier been India’s top trading partner from 2013-14 to 2017-18 and again in 2020-21, before the US took over in 2021-22.
The data also showed mixed trends across other key partners. India recorded negative export growth with countries including the Netherlands, the UK, Singapore, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Australia, France, South Africa, and Malaysia.
However, exports increased to markets such as the UAE, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Nepal, Brazil, Spain, Belgium, and Vietnam.
On the import side, India saw declines from countries like Russia, Iraq, Indonesia, Australia, Qatar, and Taiwan, while imports rose from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Thailand, and Malaysia.