India's trade deficit with China mounts to $46.56 billion: report

India's trade deficit with China rose to a whopping $46.56 billion in 2016 despite a 2.1 per cent decline in bilateral trade to nearly $71 billion, as Indian exports continued to decline.

India-China bilateral trade in 2016 stood at $70.8 billion, down 2.1 per cent a PTI report said citing trade figures released by General Administration of Customs (GAC).

China exports totaled $58.33 billion, posting an increase of 0.2 per cent compared to $58.25 billion in 2015, as per GAC data, the report sad..

While the report did not give a break-up of figures for various goods and sectors and there are no details of the areas of decline in India's exports, it quoted officials as saying that this is an extension of the continuing declining trend in India's exports in the last few years.

India's exports to China is pegged lower at $11.76 billion in 2016, a nearly 12 per cent decline compared to 2015.

Indian exports, which stood at $16.4 billion in 2014 declined $13.38 billion in 2015 and to $11.76 billon in 2016. In 2016, the trade deficit was $12.46 billion.

The overall trade between the two countries in 2015 touched $71.64 registering a marginal increase compared to $70.59 in 2014.

The trade deficit has mounted to $46.56 billion in 2016 from $44.87 billion in 2015 as per the data from Chinese customs.

However, there is considerable differences between India and China trade figures as Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Lok Sabha on November 28 last year that India's trade deficit with China increased to $52.69 billion in 2015-16 from $48.48 billion in the previous financial year.

"Increasing trade deficit with China can be attributed primarily to the fact that Chinese exports to India rely strongly on manufactured items to meet the demand of fast expanding sectors like telecom and power," she had said.