China on Friday said it was ready to work with India to address bilateral economic and trade concerns in a balanced manner, after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman flagged Beijing’s restrictions on market access for Indian products and the widening trade deficit between the two countries.
“What I can tell you is that China never aims for trade surplus,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a media briefing, responding to a question on Sitharaman’s remarks.
“We stand ready to work with India to address each other’s economic and trade concerns in a balanced way and promote the steady development of bilateral relations,” Mao said. She added that questions on specific trade issues should be directed to the relevant Chinese authorities.
The response came as India’s trade deficit with China widened to $105.93 billion in the January-September period, up 20.7% from the year-ago period, according to data released by China Customs on Wednesday.
Sitharaman flags non-tariff barriers
Sitharaman on Friday said the growing trade imbalance and persistent restrictions on market access for Indian goods remained major concerns despite years of engagement with Beijing.
“Non-tariff barriers are the biggest hurdle in the trade between India and China,” the finance minister said during an interaction with the Atlantic Council on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.
She said India had consistently sought greater access to the Chinese market for products such as generic medicines, bovine meat, vegetables and other perishable goods, but had made little progress.
Sitharaman also pointed to the use of phytosanitary measures and other non-tariff restrictions by China, saying such issues could be addressed through discussions and investigations.
The finance minister said India had refrained from imposing punitive tariffs on trading partners to correct large trade imbalances, preferring negotiations despite the time they could take.
India-China trade crosses $144 billion
China’s exports to India rose 23.3% year-on-year to $125.19 billion during January-September 2026, while Indian exports to China increased 40.7% to $19.26 billion, according to China Customs data.
Total bilateral trade between the two countries grew 25.4% to $144.45 billion during the nine-month period.
Despite the faster growth in Indian exports, the trade gap continued to widen because imports from China remained substantially higher than India’s shipments to the neighbouring country.