India would emerge as major exporter to China, Asean in coming years: Goyal

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.

The 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. Goyal's remarks assume importance as China is India's second-largest trading partner.

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. India's exports to China grew 36.62 per cent to $19.47 billion in 2025-26 from $14.25 billion a year ago. Imports, on the other hand, rose 16 per cent to $131.62 billion during the period. The trade deficit widened to $99.19 billion in the last fiscal year from $85 billion in 2024-25, an area of concern for the country.

There are also issues related to investments from China as India has tightened its foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for countries sharing land borders with it. When asked about China's new export controls on key machinery, including tunnel boring machines, the minister said, "We will work on it". The restrictions on exports of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) and related items could affect several Indian projects, including underground metro systems, high-speed rail lines and tunnels in various locations, including border areas.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel First Published: Oct 27 2026 | 10:14 AM IST