China says it remains India’s top trading partner, and not US

Beijing/New Delhi:  Beijing on Tuesday maintained that it remained India’s top trading partner in 2021 based on Chinese data, amid reports that the US surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner in 2021-22.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday, in response to Indian data on trade rankings, that “According to the statistics of Chinese competent authorities, bilateral trade volume between China and India stood at $125.66 billion in 2021.
“On that basis, China remains India’s largest trading partner, and the total trade volume topped $100 billion for the first time.
“The disparity in trade figures published by China and India is a result of different statistical measurement scales.”
He said that “China does not object to the development of normal trade relations between India and the US, and is not that interested in the changes of the ranking in trade volume.
“What we care about is whether the Indian side has the will and takes real actions to create a fair, transparent, sustainable and sound environment for bilateral trade and investment, further expand mutually-beneficial cooperation between the two sides and deliver tangible benefits to the two countries and two peoples.”
His statement came in response to Indian commerce ministry data showing that in 2021-22, trade between the US and India stood at $119.42 billion in 2021-22, while India’s trade with China aggregated at $115.42 billion during the period.
Separately, to a question on India probing the local units of ZTE Corp and Vivo Mobile for alleged financial mistakes on behalf of the company and extending an investigation into the China-based firms in India, such as Xiaomi, Zhao said: “The Chinese government is closely following the situation.
“The Chinese government always asks Chinese companies to abide by laws and regulations when doing business overseas.
“In the meantime, we firmly support Chinese companies in safeguarding their legal rights and interests.
“The Indian side should act in accordance with laws and regulations and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies operating in India.” (UNI)