According to a report by think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India's imports from China exceeded $101 billion in FY2023-2024, a figure that stood at only about $70 billion in FY2018-2019, and the share of Chinese products in India's industrial imports rose over a 15-year period from 21 percent to 30 percent. The report concludes that India's imports of Chinese products will grow significantly in the coming years.

Noting that the growth rate of imported Chinese goods has been 2.3 times the growth rate of India's total imports over the last 15 years, the study pointed out that China is the largest source of supply to eight major industrial sectors in India, including machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and textiles, thus proving that the common perception that imports of Chinese products account for a very high share of the electronics sector only is at variance with the facts.

India's exports to China stagnated at around $16 billion per annum between FY 2018-2019 and FY 2023-2024, the report said.

According to the report, GTRI excluded agricultural products, minerals, petroleum, gems and jewelry products, among others, while defining industrial goods. The industrial goods covered in the study account for 98.5% of India's imports from China.

India's total merchandise imports for FY2023-2024 amount to $677.2 billion, of which 15 percent or over $101 billion of goods come from China. Of these imports, $100 billion worth of goods fall under the category of major industrial goods.