The share of Chinese imports in the country's total inbound shipments has declined to 15.4 per cent in 2021-22 from 16.5 per cent in 2020-21, sources said on Thursday.
They also said the major items imported from China into India are used for meeting the demand of sectors like telecom and power.
Citing some examples, they said imports like Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and drug formulations provide Indian pharma industry raw material for producing finished goods which are also exported.
Increase in imports of information and communication technology products and medical and scientific instruments can be attributed to the surge in demand of these products during COVID-19 times.
"Moreover, the rising prices of commodities globally have also played a significant role in adding to import value," one of the sources said.
Exports to China
Exports to China increased marginally to $21.25 billion last fiscal from $21.18 billion in 2020-21, while imports rose to $94.16 billion from about $65.21 billion in 2020-21.
India's exports to China at $21.2 billion in 2021-22 were its third highest, after the US and UAE. Exports to the neighbouring country stood at $11.9 billion in 2014-15.
Further, sources stated that imports of mobile phones from China dropped by 55 per cent to $626 million in 2021-22, from $1.4 billion in 2020-21.
"Technical regulations have been framed for several products for maintenance of standards/quality of imported products. This will check import of sub-standard products from any country, including China," a source said.