The Chinese-Indian Trade Relationship

Shein is back in India after a five year ban. Delhi cast out the fast fashion brand as well as multiple other Chinese apps back in June 2020 following deadly clashes in a disputed Himalayan border area, citing national security and data protection concerns. But on February 1, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries relaunched the Shein India app under a new agreement that requires all of the products sold on the platform in India to be designed and produced domestically. Shein is already operating in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, with plans to expand nationwide.

Trade between China and India is quite the lopsided affair. China is the bigger exporter by far, having delivered $110 billion worth of goods to India in 2022. Almost half of that value was generated by electronics and other machinery. India, on the other hand, shipped goods worth approximately $15.3 billion to China that year. The biggest Indian exports to China were less lucrative raw materials like oil and minerals as well as metals and chemical products.

India’s trade deficit with China grew by 61 percent between 2018 and 2022, having increased from around $59 billion to nearly $95 billion in 2022. The total two-way commerce of the countries was $125.3 billion in the latter year.