The BRICS trade record between India and China reached $155 billion in 2025 — a historic high that no government forecast had publicly anticipated. The BRICS trade record in 2025 caps a year of quiet economic convergence between two neighbors who spent most of the previous four years locked in diplomatic friction.
India-China trade 2025 data shows China cementing its place as India’s top merchandise trade partner and largest export market. Meanwhile, the China-India imports surge of 43.1% year-on-year in the first two months of 2026 — well above any market estimate — signals that BRICS trade growth in 2026 is already running hot. BRICS imports from India are outpacing every other origin country tracked in Beijing’s trade data right now.
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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, were “heartened to see reenergized interactions at all levels, a new record in bilateral trade.” He also urged both governments to “support each other’s BRICS presidency over the next two years, so as to make BRICS cooperation more substantive and bring new hope to the Global South.”
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 produce “more visible outcomes of practical cooperation” and 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.
