Rendered from the All Frontier Global corridor registry · every figure below carries a numbered source
India and China trade without any bilateral agreement. No free trade agreement, no comprehensive partnership and no bilateral preferential arrangement exists between them[1]; the only preferential channel covering both is the plurilateral Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, whose Fourth Round concessions took effect on 1 July 2018[2]. This page renders the corridor registry record — the agreement position, the trade values official sources state and the ones they conspicuously do not, the commodity split, the mechanics from border passes to anti-dumping, and the figures no official source would supply.
No bilateral free trade agreement or preferential trade agreement exists between India and China. The only preferential arrangement covering both countries is the plurilateral Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), of which India is a founding member and China is a participating member.[1] DGFT's official Appendix 2A enumerates India's 11 FTAs (Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, SAFTA, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, ASEAN, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius) and 6 PTAs (APTA, GSTP, Afghanistan, MERCOSUR, Chile, SAPTA). No bilateral India-China instrument appears in either list. APTA membership is corroborated by PIB (pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1537323).
APTA is a Plurilateral preferential trade agreement. PIB names six participating member states: Bangladesh, China, India, Lao PDR, Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka. DGFT's Appendix 2A additionally lists Mongolia, which it states joined in May 2014. Fourth Round coverage: 10,677 tariff lines (up from 4,270 items at the conclusion of the Third Round). India exchanged tariff concessions on 3,142 tariff lines with all member countries. Overall average margin of preference 31.52%, rising to 81% on designated items for least developed member countries.[2]
The operative preferential schedule between the two countries entered into force on 1 July 2018[2]. This is the entry-into-force date of the APTA Fourth Round tariff concessions — the currently operative preferential schedule covering India-China trade — not the date of APTA's original establishment. PIB: concessions implemented 'with effect from 1st July, 2018'. The original APTA signing date could not be sourced from a page fetched in this session; see Not yet verified.
Two agreement fields are carried as null rather than filled in: the date APTA itself was signed, and whether it has been notified to the WTO. Neither could be sourced, and neither is guessed at here.
Primary official sources for the agreement position: [1][2][4][5][3]
For FY2025-26 (April 2025-March 2026) the Department of Commerce trade analytics portal publishes the two legs separately: India’s exports to China at US$19.47 bn[3] and India’s imports from China at US$131.63 bn[3]. It publishes no total and no balance for the year, and the registry adds neither.
Displayed as '$19.47Bn' with change '+36.62% (E)'. Portal caption verbatim: 'India's Export and Import with key partner countries for FY 2025-26 (YTD), E = Exports, I = Imports. (Source: DGCIS)'. The '(YTD)' label appears to be stale boilerplate: FY2025-26 closed in March 2026 and the portal states coverage through May 2026. The +36.62% growth matches PIB's full-year FY2025-26 release, which lists 'China P Rp (36.66%)' among top export destinations for FY2025-26 (April-March), indicating this is a full-year figure.[3][6]
Displayed as '$131.63Bn' with change '+16.03% (I)'. The +16.03% growth is an exact match for PIB's full-year FY2025-26 release, which lists 'China P Rp (16.03%)' among top import sources for FY2025-26 (April-March).[3][6]
| Measure | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Total bilateral trade | US$127.71 bn | FY2024-25 |
| India’s exports to China | US$14.25 bn | FY2024-25 |
| India’s imports from China | US$113.46 bn | FY2024-25 |
| India’s trade deficit | US$99.21 bn | FY2024-25 |
This is the most recent officially stated India-China trade deficit figure located. The Embassy page carries the stamp 'Page last updated on June 10, 2026' and its table ends at FY2024-25.[4]
FY2014-15: 72.37 total / 11.96 exports / 60.41 imports / 48.45 deficit. FY2015-16: 70.72 / 9.01 / 61.71 / 52.70. FY2016-17: 71.45 / 10.17 / 61.28 / 51.11. FY2017-18: 89.71 / 13.33 / 76.38 / 63.05. FY2018-19: 87.07 / 16.75 / 70.32 / 53.57. FY2019-20: 81.87 / 16.61 / 65.26 / 48.65. FY2020-21: 86.40 / 21.19 / 65.21 / 44.02. FY2021-22: 116.13 / 21.56 / 94.57 / 73.01. FY2022-23: 113.82 / 15.31 / 98.51 / 83.20. FY2023-24: 118.40 / 16.66 / 101.74 / 85.08. FY2024-25: 127.71 / 14.25 / 113.46 / 99.21.[4]
Full official Indian-side series as published by the mission. India's exports to China peaked at US$21.56bn in FY2021-22 and then fell for three consecutive years to US$14.25bn in FY2024-25, while imports rose every year from FY2020-21, which is what drives the widening deficit.[4]
These are separate series, carried side by side and reconciled with nothing. The Chinese customs figures in particular are compiled on a different calendar and a different basis, and are not a substitute for the Indian numbers above.
For FY2025-26 (April-March), 'China P Rp (36.66%)' is listed among India's top 5 export destinations by growth and 'China P Rp (16.03%)' among top 5 import sources by growth. India's overall FY2025-26 merchandise exports US$441.78bn, imports US$774.98bn, deficit US$333.19bn. No China-specific dollar values are given in the release.
FY2024-25 full year: total US$127.69bn, India exports US$14.25bn, India imports US$113.45bn, deficit US$99.20bn — matching the Embassy of India, Beijing figures to within rounding. FY2025-26 partial (April-November 2025): total US$96.46bn, exports US$12.20bn, imports US$84.26bn, deficit US$72.06bn.
Chinese mirror statistics, calendar year January-December 2025, in USD million: China's exports to India 135,872.0; China's imports from India 19,749.2; total two-way 155,621.2. December 2025 alone: exports 12,774.5; imports 2,241.8; total 15,016.3.
Chinese customs data is compiled on a calendar-year basis and on a different valuation/partner-attribution basis from India's fiscal-year DGCIS data, so these figures are not directly comparable with the Indian FY series above. They are recorded here as the Chinese official mirror statistic, not as a substitute for the Indian figures.
Calendar year 2023: overall trade with China decreased 1.66% year on year to US$115.82 billion; India's exports up 7.13% y/y to US$16.23 billion; India's imports down 2.96% to US$99.59 billion; trade deficit US$83.36 billion. Trade expanded 66.38% over 2016-2023, averaging 9.48% annually.
This page reports on a calendar-year basis; the Embassy's other page (eoibejing_pages/MjQ,) reports the same relationship on India's April-March fiscal-year basis. The two are not interchangeable.
Both commodity tables are partial-year, and the two directions do not even cover the same number of months. They are shown as published; nothing is annualised, and the two baskets are not netted against each other.
| Commodity | Value |
|---|---|
| Electrical machinery and equipment and parts | US$2 bn |
| Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation | US$1.78 bn |
| Ores, slag and ash | US$1.01 bn |
| Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates | US$0.95623 bn |
| Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances | US$0.79845 bn |
| Organic chemicals | US$0.78206 bn |
| Salt, sulphur, earths and stone, plastering materials, lime and cement | US$0.57381 bn |
Partial-year data. Used as the best available quasi-official commodity breakdown because DGCIS/tradestat commodity queries are POST-only forms that could not be submitted in this session — see Not yet verified.[7]
| Commodity | Value |
|---|---|
| Electrical machinery and equipment and parts | US$28.66 bn |
| Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances | US$18.84 bn |
| Organic chemicals | US$7.62 bn |
| Plastic and articles thereof | US$4.55 bn |
| Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock | US$1.82 bn |
| Fertilizers | US$1.81 bn |
| Optical, photographic, medical or surgical instruments | US$1.71 bn |
The import period stated on the source page (April-October 2025) is one month shorter than the export period (April-November 2025); the two baskets are therefore not directly comparable month-for-month. The asymmetry of the corridor is nonetheless stark: India's single largest import line from China (electrical machinery, US$28.66bn) exceeds India's entire export basket to China for the period.[7]
The Embassy of India, Beijing names what moves in each direction without pricing any of it. Period as given: Not dated on source page.
iron ore, Light naphtha, p-xylene, shrimps and castor oil
machineries, electronics, personal computers, Monolithic integrated circuits, parts of telephonic/telegraphic equipment, lithium-ion, fertilizers
The Embassy characterises India's side of the basket as structurally narrow: 'narrow basket of commodities, mostly primary, that we export to China'.[4]
Land border trade runs under its own legal regime with its own permitted-goods list in each direction. Period as given: As listed in 2014; no more recent official list located.
wool, cashmere, skins, livestock (goats, sheep, horses), salt, borax, silk, garments, and 'Local Herbal Medicine'
agricultural implements, textiles, tea, coffee, vegetables, spices, handicrafts, and 'Religious Products such as beads, prayer wheels, incense sticks and butter oil lamps'
Included because border trade is a distinct legal channel with its own permitted-goods list, separate from general maritime/air trade. The release also records that the 'Department of Commerce is not aware of any further demand to revise the list of tradable items' as of that date.[9]
There is no India-China FTA, CEPA or bilateral PTA. DGFT's official Appendix 2A list of India's FTAs and PTAs contains no bilateral India-China instrument. Trade therefore moves at MFN applied rates except on lines covered by the plurilateral Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), where a margin of preference applies. APTA's Fourth Round, in force from 1 July 2018, covers 10,677 tariff lines across all members (India exchanged concessions on 3,142 lines), at an overall average margin of preference of 31.52%.
Source organisation: DGFT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Appendix 2A); APTA Fourth Round detail from PIB (pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1537323)
Border trade with China is conducted through designated Himalayan passes under a separate permitted-goods regime. Nathu La (Sikkim) is the crossing documented in Government of India releases, operating on a seasonal basis (records show trading seasons running roughly May to November). Shipki La (Kinnaur district, Himachal Pradesh) is being brought into operation with trade scheduled to commence 1 June 2026. The scale is negligible relative to maritime trade: India's total trade with China through land borders in 2017-18 was US$3.16 million (exports US$1.81 million, imports US$1.35 million). Nathu La-specific volumes were Rs 3.72 crore (May-Nov 2011), Rs 7.00 crore (May-Nov 2012) and Rs 8.92 crore (May-Nov 2013).
No single official page fetched in this session enumerates all three commonly-cited border trade points (Nathu La, Shipki La, Lipulekh) as a designated set. Lipulekh appears in fetched official sources only as a Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrim route, not as an operating trade point. MEA's border-trade protocol documents returned HTTP 403 — see Not yet verified.
Source organisation: Government of India, Press Information Bureau / Ministry of Commerce and Industry (23 July 2014, Nathu La volumes and permitted-goods list); land-border totals from PIB release dated 01 January 2019 (pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1558007); Shipki La commencement from Akashvani News / Prasar Bharati (newsonair.gov.in)
Indian bank presence in China is minimal and RMB clearing capacity is nearly absent: only SBI and ICICI have branches in Shanghai, and 'SBI is the only Indian bank to have authorization to conduct local currency (RMB) business' at its Shanghai branch. On the Chinese side, ICBC opened its Mumbai branch on 15 September 2011 and Bank of China received RBI approval in July 2018. The Indian trading community in China is concentrated in the port cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen and in wholesale markets such as Yiwu in Zhejiang.
Source organisation: Embassy of India, Beijing
The Embassy of India, Beijing attributes the structural imbalance to two causes it names directly: first, a 'narrow basket of commodities, mostly primary, that we export to China'; and second, 'market access impediments for most of our agricultural products and the sectors where we are competitive in, such as pharmaceuticals, IT/IteS'. Protocols have been signed to open specific Chinese market access for Indian rice, rapeseed meal, tobacco, fishmeal / fish oil and chilli meal.
Source organisation: Embassy of India, Beijing; agri-protocol list from PIB / Ministry of Commerce and Industry, written reply by Minister Piyush Goyal to Rajya Sabha dated 7 February 2020 (pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=199141)
Investment from countries sharing a land border with India (LBCs) has required Government approval rather than the automatic route under Press Note 3 (2020). On 10 March 2026 the Union Cabinet approved amendments introducing a definition of 'Beneficial Owner' and a 60-day expedited approval timeline for specified sectors, and permitting investors with non-controlling LBC beneficial ownership of up to 10 per cent under the automatic route. PIB's stated rationale: 'Applicability of PN3 restrictions to cases where LBC investors may have only non-strategic, non-controlling interests was seen as adversely affecting investment flows from investors'.
The release refers generically to 'countries sharing land border with India' and does not name China. This is an investment-policy mechanic rather than a goods-trade mechanic, but it is the principal officially-documented policy friction specific to the land-border-country category to which China belongs.
Source organisation: Government of India, Press Information Bureau (Cabinet decision, 10 March 2026)
India applies domestic standards to imported goods: 'The BIS standards applicable to domestic goods are also applicable to imported goods.' In FY2024-25 through February 2025, 'a total of 206 cases against import of substandard goods violating IPR, BIS and FSSAI norms, valued at Rs.206.62 crore, have been booked.'
IMPORTANT CAVEAT: China is not named anywhere in this release, and the release does not enumerate Quality Control Orders (QCOs) by number or product. It establishes only the general principle that BIS standards bind imports, plus aggregate enforcement counts across all origins. No official source was located that lists QCOs specifically applied to Chinese-origin imports — see Not yet verified.
Source organisation: Government of India, Press Information Bureau (release dated 1 April 2025)
India's Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) maintains an anti-dumping case database showing 606 case records. China PR is by a wide margin the most frequently named origin among ongoing investigations. Products under live investigation naming China PR at the time of access include: Halo-Isobutene-Isoprene Rubber; Dialyzers; Resorcinol; Hot Rolled Flat Products; Decor Paper (sunset review, China PR only); Moulded Soda-Lime Glass Vials; Thermal Paper; Certain Antioxidants; PTFE; Wallpapers; Cold Rolled Flat Products of Stainless Steel 300 and 400 Series; and Solar Encapsulants excluding EVA.
The 606 figure is the total case count in the database across all origins and all years, not a China-specific count. The named investigations are those visible on the first results page at time of access; DGTR does not publish a China-specific measures-in-force total on this page.
Source organisation: Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India
The Government of India has formally acknowledged reports of 'goods of Chinese origin coming into India from other countries like Singapore and Hong Kong', meaning headline bilateral figures understate the true China content of India's imports.
Dated 2020. No more recent official statement on China-origin transshipment was located in this session. Corroborating signal in current data: PIB's FY2025-26 release lists Hong Kong among India's top 5 export destinations (33.22% growth) and top 5 import sources (23.32% growth) alongside China.
Source organisation: Government of India, Press Information Bureau / Ministry of Commerce and Industry — written reply by Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal to Rajya Sabha, 7 February 2020
The registry is explicit that this section is incomplete: it covers land passes, the Chinese port cities where Indian traders are concentrated and the restored air corridor, because no official source for the sea lane that carries the corridor could be found — see Not yet verified.
The land border trade crossing documented in Government of India releases, operating seasonally with its own permitted-goods list in each direction. Volumes are trivial relative to the maritime corridor (Rs 8.92 crore across the May-November 2013 season; India's entire land-border trade with China was US$3.16 million in 2017-18). Nathu La is also one of the two designated Kailash Mansarovar Yatra routes, and carried 10 of the 15 pilgrim batches in 2025.
Source organisation: Government of India, Press Information Bureau / Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Yatra routing from Akashvani News / Prasar Bharati (newsonair.gov.in/kailash-manasarovar-yatra-resumes-after-5-years-750-pilgrims-selected-via-online-draw/)
Border trade point being brought into operation: 'Trade between India and China will commence from June 1 through the Shipki La Pass in Himachal Pradesh, and significant preparations are being undertaken to ensure its success.' Warehouses and shops are being constructed at Namgya Gram Panchayat in the Pooh subdivision to facilitate trading operations. Implementation meeting chaired by Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Dr. Amit Kumar Sharma.
Commencement date is 1 June 2026. The source does not state whether trade actually began on schedule; no confirming post-1-June-2026 official report was located.
Source organisation: Akashvani News / Prasar Bharati (Government of India), report dated 19 March 2026
The Chinese port cities where the Indian trading community operating in the corridor is concentrated: 'Indian trading community is primarily confined to major port cities such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen'. Indian traders also operate in wholesale markets such as Yiwu in Zhejiang. India maintains a Consulate General in Guangzhou and in Shanghai in addition to the Embassy in Beijing.
Source organisation: Embassy of India, Beijing
Direct commercial air connectivity, suspended since early 2020, was restored in stages. Direct commercial flights resumed in November 2025, with India's Consul General in Shanghai, Pratik Mathur, welcoming 'the first batch of passengers arriving from New Delhi as direct commercial flights between the two countries officially resumed after five years'. Air China resumed direct Beijing-Delhi service on 21 April 2026, operating Airbus A332 aircraft on both legs.
The November 2025 report does not name the operating airline or state the exact resumption date. Air cargo capacity implications are not addressed in either source.
Source organisation: Akashvani News / Prasar Bharati (Government of India), reports dated 10 November 2025 and 22 April 2026 (newsonair.gov.in/air-china-resumes-direct-beijing-delhi-flights/)
India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi 'reaffirmed their commitment to promote the resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra', gave 'positive directions for cross-border cooperation' including 'data sharing on trans-border rivers', and gave positive guidance on border trade resumption.
Source organisation: DD News (Prasar Bharati, Government of India), report dated 19 December 2024
The meeting 'comprehensively reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas'. Both sides agreed to 'maintain and strengthen relevant diplomatic and military mechanisms' and discussed 'the early resumption of cross-border cooperation and exchanges, including on trans-border rivers and the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra'. The Indian delegation leader called on Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei; both sides agreed to prepare for the next Special Representatives meeting in India later in 2025.
Source organisation: Akashvani News / Prasar Bharati (Government of India), report dated 26 March 2025
'A total of 750 pilgrims have been selected for this year's Kailash Manasarovar Yatra', organised into 15 batches of 50 pilgrims each — 'Five will follow the Lipulekh route and 10 will follow the Nathula route'. First batch departed 30 June 2025; final batch concluded 25 August 2025. The Yatra had been suspended since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, with pilgrims selected by online draw.
Source organisation: Akashvani News / Prasar Bharati (Government of India), report dated 21 May 2025
The Indian Embassy in Beijing announced that Chinese citizens 'can apply for a tourist visa to India after completing an online application, scheduling an appointment and personally submitting their passport' at Indian Visa Application Centres. Centres operate at the Embassy in Beijing and at the Consulates General in Shanghai and Guangzhou. Tourist visas had been suspended for five years.
Source organisation: Akashvani News / Prasar Bharati (Government of India), report dated 24 July 2025
Following talks in New Delhi between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, the two sides 'agreed to resume direct flight connectivity between the Chinese mainland and India at the earliest and finalise an updated Air Services Agreement'. Talks were described as 'positive, constructive and forward-looking'.
Source organisation: Akashvani News / Prasar Bharati (Government of India), report dated 20 August 2025
The External Affairs Ministry announced that direct air services connecting designated points in both countries would resume by late October 2025, aligned with the winter season schedule. 'The civil aviation authorities of the two countries have been engaged in technical-level discussions on resuming direct air services and on a revised Air Services Agreement.' Resumption was contingent on 'the commercial decision of the designated carriers from the two countries and fulfilment of all operational criteria'.
Source organisation: Akashvani News / Prasar Bharati (Government of India), report dated 2 October 2025
India's Consul General in Shanghai, Pratik Mathur, 'welcomed the first batch of passengers arriving from New Delhi as direct commercial flights between the two countries officially resumed after five years'. Flights had been suspended since early 2020 'due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent diplomatic tensions'.
Source organisation: Akashvani News / Prasar Bharati (Government of India), report dated 10 November 2025
The Cabinet approved amendments to the Press Note 3 (2020) regime introducing a definition of 'Beneficial Owner', a 60-day expedited approval timeline for specified sectors, and a rule that 'Investors with non-controlling LBC Beneficial Ownership of up to 10 percent shall be permitted under the automatic route'. Previously all LBC investments required Government approval.
Source organisation: Government of India, Press Information Bureau
Kinnaur district administration announced trade would commence 1 June 2026 through Shipki La, with warehouses and shops to be constructed at Namgya Gram Panchayat in the Pooh subdivision. Implementation meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner Dr. Amit Kumar Sharma.
Source organisation: Akashvani News / Prasar Bharati (Government of India)
For FY2025-26 (April-March), PIB lists 'China P Rp (36.66%)' among India's top 5 export destinations by growth and 'China P Rp (16.03%)' among the top 5 import sources by growth. India's overall FY2025-26 merchandise exports were US$441.78 billion against imports of US$774.98 billion, for a deficit of US$333.19 billion. Cumulative exports (merchandise and services) were estimated at US$860.09 billion, up 4.22%.
Source organisation: Government of India, Press Information Bureau / Department of Commerce
'Air China officially resumed direct flights between Beijing and Delhi', operating Airbus A332 aircraft, with both flights arriving ahead of schedule. A Chinese Embassy spokesperson called the resumption 'a strong and confident start to the resumed route'.
Source organisation: Akashvani News / Prasar Bharati (Government of India), report dated 22 April 2026
The registry records what could not be sourced as well as what could. These are open items, listed exactly as the registry states them — not gaps we have filled from memory or inference.
Numbered to match the markers in the text above. Every figure on this page traces to one of these; nothing is estimated, averaged or carried over from outside the registry.
Data verified 12 August 2026 · rendered from the corridor registry.
Developed by Amit Jain at allfrontierglobal.com
© 2026 All Frontier Global · Panchkula, Haryana, India
Developed by Amit Jain at allfrontierglobal.com · purposed.in · purposed · purposed2 · merchcomp.com · uuka.org
Compiled reference — verify current specifics at the source.
A question, a correction, or something you'd like covered. It goes straight to his inbox — no list, no newsletter.