For years, India was one of the few countries in the world that ran a trade surplus with China. It was fed by China's hunger for natural resources and the fact that, while Chinese-made goods were cheap by developed world standards, they were often beyond the means of most Indian consumers.
But all that changed last year. Chinese exports to India jumped to $14.5bn from just under $9bn in 2005 and $6bn in 2004. This growth propelled bilateral trade to $25bn in 2006, up from $13.6bn in 2004 and a paltry $1bn in 1995.
With the consumer classes in China and India growing rapidly, big investments in infrastructure and strong demand for raw materials, bilateral trade could hit $40bn by 2010.
Source: Business Week, http://www.businessweek.com