China India Photo: Xinhua

Despite increasingly cold relations between China and India, trade between the two countries continues to rise, with the trade from January to August growing 51.9 percent on a yearly basis, according to data released by China's customs on Tuesday.

Analysts have pointed out that as India is gradually recovering from the Delta variant induced mayhem in the past months, its economic recovery seems to drive up demand for imports. 

The trade between China and India in August reached $11.02 billion, with the total trade from January to August reaching $78.55 billion, a year-on-year increase of 51.9 percent. 

In August, the imports and exports between the two countries amounted to $8.59 billion and $2.43 billion, respectively, with the total exports and imports in the first eight months totaling $58.69 billion and $19.85 billion, respectively. 

China and India have established a solid basis for trade before the pandemic and it is hard for India to find substitutes to replace products from China, Liu Xiaoxue, an associate research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Trade between China and India surged more than 65 percent in the first half of 2021 despite Indian calls for a boycott, New Delhi-based newspaper The Print reported in August, emphasizing that China remains India's largest foreign trade market. 

Moreover, The Print added that India remains critically dependent on China for 86 items, including electronics, computer hardware, telephone equipment and electronic items. 

Bilateral trade in August slightly increased from July, as the imports and exports in July reached $10.02 billion. 

Liu stressed that the bilateral trade many expand after travel restrictions are lifted. 

China's foreign trade with India increased 62.7 percent from January to June in dollar terms compared with the same period last year, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce, with China's exports and imports to India reaching $57.48 billion in the first six months, imports increasing 69.6 percent year-on-year, and exports growing 60.4 percent year-on-year. .

Global Times