During Bloomberg New Economy event, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal says efforts to rebuild ties with China are under way. Photo: PTI
Piyush Goyal: India is working to develop relations with China once again
Goyal added that India was open to partnerships with countries across the world, while noting that concerns in the past had affected its engagement with China.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday (October 14) said India was working to rebuild ties with China, but the future of the relationship remained uncertain.
Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy event, Goyal said India was willing to pursue joint ventures with any country, provided the terms were fair, engagement remained consistent and geopolitical conditions did not worsen. “We are working to develop relations with China once again, but the last word has not yet been scripted on this journey,” he said.
Also read: BRICS Summit | Modi-Xi meeting: ‘India-China border row remains key hurdle to ties’
Goyal added that India was open to partnerships with countries across the world, while noting that concerns in the past had affected its engagement with China.
Trading partner
The remarks are important as China is India's second-largest trading partner. Bilateral trade between the two countries rose 7.9 per cent in 2025-26 to USD 127.7 billion from USD 118.39 billion in 2024-25.
India's exports to China grew 36.62 per cent to USD 19.47 billion in 2025-26 from USD 14.25 billion a year ago. Imports, on the other hand, rose 16 per cent to USD 131.62 billion during the period. The trade deficit widened to USD 99.19 billion in the last fiscal from USD 85 billion in 2024-25. This is an area of concern for the country.
India-China ties
There are also issues related to investments from China as India has tightened its FDI policy for countries sharing land borders with it.
Also read: Ajit Doval, Wang Yi hold India-China talks on border, bilateral ties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Xi Jinping, President of China, on September 12, 2026, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Delhi.
(With agency inputs)