Imports From China Is Up Despite Border Tensions

New delhi, 19 Oct 2020: 

India's trade with China has gone up during the pandemic and the lockdown despite tensions at the borders. Exports were up 27 percent from April to August period. There was a contraction in imports but the overall share of Chinese imports in our imports baskets has grown.
 
According to Jayant Dasgupta, former Indian Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation there are two-three distinct factors which have contributed to this increase.
 
“The first one is that our API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) imports have remained steady because our pharma companies import about 70 percent of their API requirements from China. They have been going at it at their usual pace if not at a slightly faster pace,” he said in a discussion on CNBC-TV18.
 
“The other very significant development is that during the pandemic lockdown, there has been a lot of activity with respect to workers who have been working from home then in the case of the educational – especially the internet based educational – providers, there has been a demand for laptops and tablets etc. So in order to satisfy this demand, there has been growth in the imports of laptops, tablets and other computer hardware. This could explain the reason why there has been a surge in the imports compared to the pre-COVID period,” he said.
 
Pankaj Mahindroo, Chairman of the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association said that going forward more sub-assemblies will be done in India.
 
“Sub-assemblies…we are developing very rapidly in India and I think that is also a matter of another year to two years that we disengage from not only China but from most parts of the world, more sub-assemblies will be done here,” Mahindroo said. CNBCTV18