China accounts for around 16 per cent of India's total imports, but its dominance is significantly higher in industrial goods, supplying as much as 30.8 per cent of the country's requirements, think tank GTRI said on Tuesday.
The country's imports increased to $774.98 billion in 2025-26. Out of this, $131.63 billion was from China.
Dependence on a single supplier for critical inputs leaves sectors like pharmaceuticals, electronics and clean energy exposed to disruptions, whether geopolitical or commercial, it said.
The GTRI analysis said that about 66 per cent of India's imports from China, valued at $82.6 billion, are clustered in electronics, machinery, computers and organic chemicals.
China accounts for 43 per cent of India's electronics imports, 40 per cent of machinery and computer imports and 44 per cent of organic chemicals.
"These are not discretionary purchases but core inputs that feed directly into India's manufacturing ecosystem," Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) Founder Ajay Srivastava said.
He said that the Indian industry relies heavily on Chinese inputs such as electronics parts, EV batteries, solar modules, APIs and specialty chemicals.
"As a result, even as India tries to grow exports, its supply chains remain tied to China. This creates clear risks," he added.
The GTRI suggested that India needs to build domestic capacity in key sectors and diversify supply chains.
"A practical starting point would be to limit dependence on any single country to below 30 per cent of imports in critical sectors," Srivastava said.
India's trade with China is no longer just a deficit story; it is a production-dependence story.
Exports to China remain stuck below FY2021 levels at $19.5 billion, while imports have more than doubled to $131.6 billion, pushing the deficit to $112.1 billion in 2025-26.
Published on April 28, 2026