India, in Infographics: Trade And Technology
China’s Chip Trade Now Rivals All Of India’s. One Customs Line Vs A Whole Country, 2015–2026.
General Merchandise For India; Electronic Integrated Circuits Only For China — Customs Data From Both, In US$ Billion. Hover Any Month (Or Tap And Drag On The Chart) To Read All Four Figures. India’s Lines Are Its Entire Goods Trade; China’s Are A Single Product. By July 2026 China’s Monthly Chip Imports Had Reached 84% Of India’s Whole Import Bill And Its Chip Exports 88% Of Everything India Sells; In 2015 Those Shares Were 47% And 17%.
Monthly, US$ Billion. India: Total Merchandise, DGCI&S / Ministry Of Commerce. China: Electronic Integrated Circuits Only (A Single Customs Class), China Customs And Wind, Per FT Calculations. Hover To Read Every Month. India’s Series Ends July 2026 (August Merchandise Not Yet Released); China’s Chips Run Through August 2026 — A Record $66bn Of Imports. India’s Jun–Jul 2026 Are Provisional.
Chips Vs India's Import Bill
84%
China’s Monthly Chip Imports Now Equal 84% Of India’s Entire Goods Import Bill — Up From 47% In 2015.
Chips Vs India's Export Bill
88%
China’s Chip Exports Equal 88% Of All India Sells Abroad, Up From 17% A Decade Ago.
China's Chip Imports, One Month
$66bn
August 2026 Alone — A Single Line On China’s Customs Sheet, Roughly 4× Its 2015 Level And Still Climbing On AI Demand.
China's Chip Trade Vs India's Whole
~85%
Chip Exports And Imports Together Move About 85 Cents For Every Dollar Of India’s Total Merchandise Trade. In 2015 It Was Nearer A Third.
What The Lines Say
China’s Chip Trade Is Not A Category — It Is The Size Of A Country’s Economy. Integrated Circuits Alone Now Move Almost As Much Money Each Month As India’s Entire Exports And Imports Combined. A Decade Ago China’s Chip Imports Were Under Half India’s Total Imports And Its Chip Exports A Sixth Of India’s; The AI Build-out Has Pulled Both To Within A Rounding Error. The Cyan And Green Lines Are Chasing India’s Red And Yellow — And Nearly Caught Them.
Reading The Four Lines
India — The Red And Yellow Ceiling
The Red And Yellow Lines Are India’s Entire Merchandise Trade: About $76bn Of Imports And $44bn Of Exports In A Typical 2026 Month. These Totals — Everything India Ships And Buys — Are What A Single Chinese Product Is Being Measured Against.
China’s Chip Imports — The Cyan Surge
From About $17bn A Month In 2015 To $66bn In 2026, Integrated Circuits Are China’s Largest Single Import — Bigger Than Crude Oil. The AI Build-out Is The Accelerant: The Cyan Line Barely Bends Until 2024, Then Turns Near-vertical.
China’s Chip Exports — Climbing Too
From About $5bn A Month To $41bn, The Green Line Shows China Is Not Only The World’s Largest Chip Buyer But A Fast-growing Seller — Assembly And Test, And Mature-node Output — Even Under Export Controls.
How This Was Built
The Two Series
India: Total Merchandise Exports And Imports, Monthly, From DGCI&S / Ministry Of Commerce Via The PolityPolicy Trade Tracker, Converted To US$ Billion. China: Monthly Exports And Imports Of Electronic Integrated Circuits From The Financial Times’ Chart (China General Administration Of Customs And Wind, Per FT Calculations), In US$ Billion.
Coverage And Checks
A Common Monthly Window, Jan 2015 To Jul 2026 (139 Months). The Data Was Audited: China’s 2024 Chip Imports Summed To $386bn Against $385bn Published, And 2024 Chip Exports To $160bn; India Re-parsed Byte-exact From Source. Provisional Months Are Flagged.
Sources: India — DGCI&S / Ministry Of Commerce (Total Merchandise Trade). China — General Administration Of Customs And Wind, Via Financial Times Calculations (Electronic Integrated Circuits). Monthly, US$ Billion; Retrieved 8 September 2026. India’s Latest Two Months Are Provisional.
