India-China BRICS Trade Hits $155B Record in 2025, 2026 Imports Already Surging 43%

A historic $155 billion in BRICS trade between India and China in 2025 has been dramatically overshadowed by a blistering 43.1% year-on-year surge in Chinese imports from India in early 2026, signaling a trade boom that is defying all market forecasts and diplomatic tensions.

BRICS Trade Record 2025 Highlights India-China Trade Growth and Imports

Wang Yi Puts a Number to It

On March 8, 2026, Foreign Minister Wang Yi confirmed the bilateral trade milestone at a press conference on the sidelines of China’s National People’s Congress. Both sides, he said, wereHe also urged both governments to

InfoBRICS reported the $155 billion figure on March 4, 2026. China has now moved firmly into position as India’s top trade partner — a shift that accelerated as Indian exporters rerouted away from US markets, where Washington’s tariff posture has made access increasingly unpredictable.

A 43% Jump That Beat Every Forecast

China’s total imports grew 19.8% year-on-year in January and February 2026, roughly three times the market consensus of around 7%. India led all import origins with that 43.1% surge, ahead of South Korea at 35.8%, Australia at 33.8%, and Latin America at 28.9%. US imports dropped 26.7% over the same period.

The China-India imports surge tracks two things at once. On China’s side, boosting imports has been a stated policy goal — something Beijing flagged at high-level meetings, including the Two Sessions, as it aims to rebalance its trade relationships. On India’s side, ores, organic chemicals, refined petroleum, electric components, and electronics have driven export growth into China, and those sectors gained ground precisely because the US route got harder.

The Political Backstory

The India-China trade 2025 record didn’t materialize without political groundwork. Xi Jinping and Modi met in Kazan in October 2024, then again on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin in August 2025. Both meetings reopened channels that border tensions had largely shut down. Reports now suggest India’s finance ministry plans to lift five-year-old restrictions on Chinese companies bidding for government contracts — a signal that Delhi is ready to shift the relationship toward more practical economic ground.

India’s 2026 BRICS chairship gives both sides additional reason to stay on track. Wang Yi pointed to it directly, calling on both countries to produceand step up in support of the BRICS framework over the next two years.

China’s Export Engine Also Running Hot

The BRICS trade growth 2026 story extends well past imports. China’s exports grew 21.8% year-on-year in January and February — the fastest pace since January 2022 — with semiconductors up 72.6%, autos up 67.1%, and ships up 52.8%. China’s trade surplus hit $213.6 billion over those two months, a 26.2% increase from the same period a year earlier. One detail worth noting: value growth outpaced volume growth for China’s key exports, meaning goods moved at higher prices rather than just higher quantities.

The BRICS imports trajectory from India — at 43% and still accelerating — puts both countries on course to surpass the $155 billion mark well before 2026 ends. With India hosting the BRICS summit this year and both governments pushing for concrete cooperation outcomes, the numbers look set to keep moving in the same direction.