China Becomes India’s Largest Trading Partner in 2025–26

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.

India’s trade deficit with China widened sharply to $112.16 billion, as imports continued to significantly outpace exports. Exports to China rose by 36.66% to $19.47 billion, while imports increased by 16% to $131.63 billion, pushing the deficit to an all-time high of about $112.6 billion, compared to $99.2 billion in 2024–25.

In contrast, trade with the United States showed a moderate performance. India’s exports to the US grew marginally by 0.92% to $87.3 billion, while imports rose 15.95% to $52.9 billion. As a result, India’s trade surplus with the US declined to $34.4 billion in 2025–26 from $40.89 billion in the previous fiscal.

According to the Commerce Ministry, China had earlier been India’s top trading partner from 2013–14 to 2017–18, and again in 2020–21, before the United States held the position from 2021–22 to 2024–25. Prior to China’s rise, the United Arab Emirates was India’s largest trading partner.