Risk of US tariffs driving further influx of Chinese goods in India: 62% surveyed bought Made in China goods in the last 12 months; 15% of them likely to buy new Chinese brands if they are introduced through Indian companies

April 16, 2025, New Delhi: Various industry bodies in India have sought Government intervention to safeguard against the influx of Chinese goods in India. This is after the several round of tariff increases between USA and China where USA has imposed a 145% tariff on Chinese goods and China in retaliation has escalated its tariff on US goods to 125%. The US has meanwhile put a 90-day pause for countries which are negotiating reciprocal tariff trade agreements.

Some trade experts expect India to become a bigger market for Chinese goods, which they say could be beneficial if it boosts domestic manufacturing for re-exports including to the US. The trade between India and China has been thriving despite many Indians announcing decision to boycott Chinese goods after some border clashes in 2022. China's share in India's imports of industrial products like telecom, machinery, and electronics has increased in the last 15 years goods from 21% to 30%. Beyond economic concerns, the rise raises concerns about potential impacts on national security, broadening the scope of the issue beyond purely economic dimensions, states economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), adding that the growing trade deficit with China is a cause of concern as it is affecting not only economic but also national security dimensions.

From 2019 to 2024, India's exports to China have stagnated at around USD 16 billion annually, while imports from China have surged from USD 70.3 billion in 2018-19 to over USD 101 billion in 2023-24, resulting in a cumulative trade deficit exceeding USD 387 billion over five years.

Indian small businesses operating in various product categories such as umbrellas, glassware, cutlery, handbags, and cosmetics are facing stiff competition in the domestic market due to the influx of Chinese goods. For instance, China supplies 95.8% of India’s umbrellas and sun umbrellas ($31 million) and 91.9% of artificial flowers and human hair articles ($14 million). China’s share in glassware has reached 59.7%, handbags 54.3%, and toys 52.5%, the GTRI report noted. So far, import of Chinese products were carried out by Indian firms. Now with the entry of Chinese firms in Indian market, India’s industrial product imports are set to rise at an accelerated pace. “As the Chinese firms operating in India will prefer sourcing most requirements from their parent firms, Indian imports will rise sharply,” the GTRI study noted.

In February this year, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) ordered the blocking of 119 apps, primarily video and voice chat platforms, linked to developers in China and Hong Kong. The blocking order was issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, which empowers the Indian government to restrict online content access in the interest of national security, sovereignty, or public order. Around the same time, the finance ministry issued a memo asking its employees to avoid the use of Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek on official devices over concerns on security and data practices. Similarly, in March and April 2024, the government issued two separate gazette notifications. One pertained to 'Make in India' guidelines for surveillance cameras, and another was on the criteria for CCTV certification. The notifications were targeted at weeding out Chinese vendors from the supply chains of all forms of surveillance equipment, according to media reports.

With the US-China tariff situation and the risk of influx of Chinese goods in India soaring as well as Chinese apps including Deepseek being used by a sizeable number of Indians, LocalCircles has conducted a comprehensive national survey to find out the prevalence of buying Made in China goods and apps by Indians. The survey received over 39,000 responses from consumers located in 387 districts of India. 62% respondents were men while 38% respondents were women. 42% respondents were from tier 1, 26% from tier 2 and 32% respondents were from tier 3 and 4 districts.

38% Indians surveyed say they did not purchase Made in China products in the last 12 months; Percentage of Indians buying one or more Chinese products rose from 55% to 62% in the last 24 months

The survey first asked consumers, “Did you purchase any Made in China consumer products in the last 12 months?” The question received 13,203 responses with 62% stating that they “purchased Made in China products in the last 12 months. However, 38% Indians surveyed say they did not purchase Made in China products in the last 12 months.

Gadgets and electronic/mobile accessories are the top category in which Indians continue to buy Made in China products

The range of Chinese consumer goods available in the market is very wide with buyers available for all price ranges. The survey asked consumers, “What are all the different categories of Made in China consumer products that you have purchased in the last 12 months?” The question received 8,186 responses with some indicating more than one option. The largest group of 55% respondents indicated “Gadgets i.e. Smartphone, Smart watches, power banks, other electronic/ mobile accessories”; 35% respondents indicated “festive lighting, lamps, candles, water guns, etc.”; 35% of respondents indicated “consumer electronics and appliances (television, air purifier, kettle, etc.”; 21% of respondents indicated “fashion products like apparel, bags, accessories, etc.”; 21% of respondents indicated “toys and stationary”; 10% of respondents indicated “home products like lighting, furniture, etc.”; 10% of respondents indicated "gift items”; 5% indicated "vehicle accessories” and 35% of respondents indicated "other items” not mentioned. To sum up, gadgets and electronic/mobile accessories are the top category in which Indians continue to buy Made in China products.

20% Indian smartphone users surveyed have 1 or more Chinese apps installed on their phone

The Government of India may have over the last 5 years banned around 500 Chinese apps for various security reasons, yet many citizens continue to use them. The survey asked, “How many Chinese apps do you have installed on your phone currently that are related to eCommerce, device management, gaming, utilities like photo editor, audio/ video editor, scanner of social networking?” The question received 12,751 responses with 72% stating “none of them”. However, 4% of respondents stated that they use “5 or more” Chinese apps; 4% of respondents stated that they use “3 or 4” of Chinese apps; 12% stated “1-2” and 8% of respondents did not give a clear response. To sum up, 20% Indian smartphone users surveyed have 1 or more Chinese apps installed on their phone.

9% Indian smartphone users surveyed have AI app DeepSeek now installed on their phone

Earlier this year, the AI app DeepSeek from China took the world by storm, impacting even the global stock markets. To understand its prevalence, the survey asked smart phone users, “Beyond the regular utility and gaming/ entertainment apps from China, have you also installed the new AI app DeepSeek on your smartphone? Out of 15,889 who responded to the question only 9% stated that “yes” they have installed DeepSeek app on their smartphones while 3% of respondents indicated that they “haven’t yet but will do soon”. Of the remaining 86% of respondents stated “no” they have not installed DeepSeek app and 2% of respondents did not give a clear answer. To sum up, 9% Indian smartphone users surveyed have AI app DeepSeek now installed on their phone.

7 in 10 Indians surveyed not likely to buy Chinese brands introduced through partners in India

With Chinese companies rushing to find replacement demand against the loss of US volumes, many Indian companies are likely to partner with them to bring their products into the Indian market. To understand the consumer appetite for such goods, the survey asked, “If an Indian entity partners with a Chinese brand/ company and imports their products Made in China to sell to consumers in India, would that be acceptable to you?” Out of 13,431 who responded to the question 70% stated “No, will not buy such products”. However, 15% of the respondents stated “yes, we regularly buy such products and will continue to do so” and 15% of the respondents did not give a clear answer. In essence, 7 in 10 Indians surveyed are not likely to buy Chinese brands introduced through partners in India.

To summarise, the new survey shows that only 38% Indians say they did not purchase ‘Made in China’ products in the last 12 months. In fact, the percentage of Indians buying one or more Chinese products has risen from 55% to 62% in the last 12 months. The survey also finds that in case Chinese companies partner with companies in India to bring their goods here, 15% Indians are likely to buy such goods. This indicates that if the US-China tariff tussle continues and India experiences an influx of Chinese goods, some consumers are likely to buy them. In the consumer goods category, gadgets and electronic/mobile accessories tops the list of ‘Made in China’ products Indians continue to buy.

Similary on the Chinese apps front, despite several app bans by India including some memos advising against Deepseek usage by Government employees, 20% Indians have one or more Chinese apps including Deepseek on their smartphones.

LocalCircles will escalate these findings to key stakeholders in the Government so these datapoints can be utilized by Ministry of Commerce and Industry as well as MEITY as they determine their approach on Made in China goods and services.

Survey Demographics

The survey received over 39,000 responses from consumers located in 387 districts of India. 62% respondents were men while 38% respondents were women. 42% respondents were from tier 1, 26% from tier 2 and 32% respondents were from tier 3 and 4 districts. The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform, and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.