We will become major exporter to China: Goyal

Hague: India is open to Chinese suppliers meeting its growing import needs, even as it will act through established legal process against any unfair pricing, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday, expressing hope that India will become as a major exporter to China and the ASEAN region in the coming years.

Goyal said he held meetings with his Chinese counterpart in Yaounde, Cameroon, and in New Delhi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

He added that India was open to promoting free and fair trade with every country.

"They (China) are also providing us important intermediate goods, important raw materials. If in any particular product, we find that the fair play or pricing is not proper, then there's an established judicial process, which is conducted. Other than that, we believe in the rules of fair play; we believe in the rules of open trade ...we welcome suppliers to meet the growing needs of India," Goyal told reporters here.

He was replying to a question on India-China trade relations in the coming years. The minister was here on a two-day official visit.

"We are looking to open markets in different countries on a reciprocal basis for our goods and services. And I do hope that in the years to come, we will see India becoming a major exporter of goods and services to China and the ASEAN region also," he said.

The members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

During April-September this fiscal year, India's bilateral trade with China rose about 29 per cent to $ 91.76 billion, making Beijing its largest trading partner in the first half of 2026-27, according to the latest data released by the commerce ministry.

The two-way trade was $71.24 billion in April-September 2025-26.

Goyal's latest remarks came nearly two weeks after the minister, on October 14, stated that India is working to rebuild its relations with China, but the last word on this journey has not yet been scripted. In the last few months, the two sides have taken a series of measures to rebuild their ties after they came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.

On September 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to Chinese President Xi Jinping that peace and tranquillity along the frontier remains an "essential" basis for the development of India-China relations, even as the two leaders welcomed "steady progress" in the bilateral ties. The two leaders had met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi last month.

After over four years of frosty ties over the eastern Ladakh military standoff, the two neighbours began to repair their relations following a meeting between Modi and Xi in the Russian city of Kazan in October 2024 that was held after the face-off ended.

India has time and again raised concerns over the widening trade deficit with China. Bilateral trade between the two countries rose 7.9 per cent in 2025-26 to $127.7 billion from $118.39 billion in 2024-25.

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