The trade between China and India fell 12.4 per cent year-on-year to USD 12 billion in the first two months amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to the latest data from Chinese customs.
From January to February, China’s exports to India were 67.1 billion yuan (USD 9.5 billion), down 12.6 per cent on a yearly basis and imports from India dropped 11.6 per cent to 18 billion yuan (USD 2.5 billion), the state-run Global Times reported on Friday.
Bilateral trade fell by 12.4 per cent to 85.17 billion yuan (USD 12 billion) in the first two months, the report quoted Chinese Customs data.
The lockdowns in both the countries due to Covid-19 is expected to badly affect the bilateral trade which declined by three billion billion dollar last year to USD 92.68 billion from USD 95.7 billion in 2018.
The declining trade was largely attributed to the slowdown of the economies of the two countries.
The trade deficit for India continued to be high amounting to USD 56.77 billion in 2019.
The trade deficit has become a major irritant in India-China bilateral relations, figuring high in the bilateral discourse.
