Archive · 15 Sep 2026
India and China Seek Progress on Trade and Economic Concerns
India and China are trying to improve their business relationship.
Their trade ministers met in New Delhi to discuss economic problems.
China said it wants to work with India after a meeting between their leaders.
India is worried that it buys much more from China than it sells there.
Indian companies also depend on China for machines, electronics parts, chemicals and some minerals.
China’s limits on rare-earth materials have caused difficulties for Indian vehicle makers.
India wants its medicines, farm products and other goods to have better access to Chinese markets.
India has also kept restrictions on some Chinese investments while allowing limited exceptions.
The two countries are now discussing how to make trade more balanced and predictable.
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on Saturday.
China said it was ready to implement the consensus reached by Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping and address economic concerns.
India is seeking progress on its trade deficit, market access, supply-chain vulnerabilities and critical-mineral restrictions.
India’s trade deficit with China rose to $112.1 billion in 2025-26 from $99.1 billion the previous financial year.
India has begun selectively easing investment restrictions on investors from countries sharing a land border, including China.
- Who
- Piyush Goyal, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, and Wang Wentao, China’s Commerce Minister, met after Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping held bilateral talks.
- What
- India and China signalled a renewed effort to stabilise economic ties and address trade, market-access, investment and supply-chain concerns.
- When
- The ministerial meeting took place on Saturday; the Chinese Embassy spokesperson’s statement was issued on Monday. India’s trade deficit figures refer to 2025-26.
- Where
- New Delhi, India; the leaders’ preceding bilateral engagement took place on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
- Why
- The countries want to address India’s widening trade deficit, Chinese market-access restrictions, supply-chain vulnerabilities and restrictions on critical minerals.
- Meeting participants
- Piyush Goyal and Wang Wentao
- India’s China trade deficit
- $112.1 billion in 2025-26, compared with $99.1 billion the previous financial year
- Earlier trade deficit
- $73.3 billion in 2021-22
- Share of total deficit
- China accounted for 33.5% of India’s merchandise trade deficit in 2025-26
- Key Indian concerns
- Trade imbalance, market access, supply-chain vulnerabilities and restrictions on critical minerals
- Investment-policy change
- In March 2026, India permitted certain non-controlling investments of up to 10% from land-bordering countries through the automatic route
- Chinese export controls
- China tightened controls on rare-earth elements and permanent magnets in 2025