DESPITE their military standoff in eastern Ladakh and political blame games, the trade volume between India and China looks to cross the record figure of $100 billion (£73 billion) in 2021 as the total has already touched $90 billion (£65.6 billion) in the first nine months. The figures have been revealed by official sources in China.
China’s total imports and exports expanded 22.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 28.33 trillion yuan (£3.1 trillion) in the first three quarters of 2021, official data revealed on Wednesday (13).
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The figure marked a rise of 23.4 per cent from the pre-epidemic level in 2019, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.
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By the end of September, the bilateral trade between India and China totalled to $90.37 billion (£66 billion), a rise of 49.3 per cent YoY, as per the nine-month data released by Chinese customs.
China’s exports to India went up to $68.46 billion (£50 billion) or 51.7 per cent up YoY, apparently aided by massive imports of urgent supplies like oxygen concentrators at the time when India fought the devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in April and May.
The Indian exports were registered at $21.91 billion (£15.9 billion), registering a noteworthy increase of 42.5 per cent.
However, from India’s point of view, the trade deficit, which remained a concern over the years, touched $46.55 billion (£34 billion) and is expected to climb further by the end of this year.
Aalok Mehta suggested India’s linguistic diversity and key sectors such as agriculture, health, and education could be areas where AI can be deployed.Eastern Eye