Illustration: Chen Xiai/GT

India's export growth is showing where new demand is emerging. India's exports to four BRICS economies - China, South Africa, Brazil and Russia - reportedly rose 34 percent in April-August of the 2026-27 fiscal year. According to The Economic Times, China was the largest contributor to the increase, with India's exports to China rising to $9.6 billion, or nearly half of the $19.9 billion total exports to the four economies.

China's importance to Indian exporters appears to be rising. India's exports to China jumped 38.71 percent in April-August, more than twice the 17.85 percent growth in India's overall merchandise exports. At a time when global trade is becoming more uncertain, with growing concerns in India over protectionism in some Western economies, China's rising demand is giving Indian exporters more room to expand - and adding resilience to India's export growth.

Can China's support for Indian exports last as global trade becomes more uncertain? To answer that question, it is worth looking more closely at India-China trade. Official Indian data shows that India's main exports to China include petroleum products, engineering goods, electronic goods, chemical products, iron ore and marine products.

Much of this trade is linked to industry. The mix is believed to reflect India's expanding industrial capabilities and its role as a supplier of raw materials and intermediate goods to China's manufacturing sector.

This is why China's side of the story matters. For years, some Indian discussions of Chinese manufacturing have focused on competition. But the export data points to another side: China's manufacturing development is also opening space for Indian exporters. Where does that space come from?

Technology is part of the answer. Advances in areas such as artificial intelligence are giving fresh momentum to Chinese manufacturing. As factories expand and production becomes more sophisticated, they need more metals, chemicals, components and other intermediate inputs. Some of these inputs come from abroad, creating opportunities for overseas suppliers as China's manufacturing base continues to grow.

The scale of this demand is already visible in China's trade data. In the first eight months of this year, China's imports rose 22 percent, including industrial raw materials and other intermediate goods. As Chinese manufacturing expands, so does the demand for these inputs, creating opportunities for suppliers in India and elsewhere.

The question is how much of this demand Indian exporters can capture. India is also investing heavily in manufacturing. The progress of that effort can be seen not only in how much the country produces, sells and exports - from smartphones to everyday goods - but also in how deeply Indian manufacturers are connected to regional and global supply chains.

China's manufacturing base is an important part of that picture. For Indian companies, a greater presence in supply chains linked to Chinese manufacturing would itself be part of India's industrial development. It would show that Indian manufacturing is expanding not only at home, but also through the regional production networks that connect Asia's manufacturing economies.

This creates a two-way dynamic: China's manufacturing development creates demand for industrial inputs, while India's manufacturing growth gives its exporters more capacity to meet it. It shows how economic development can serve the shared interests of both countries.

China and India have reached a shared understanding on the need to work as partners. On that basis, their economic and trade engagement has room to mature, with both sides addressing concerns in a balanced way and creating more opportunities for mutually beneficial trade.

If China and India focus on development as common ground, their economic and trade engagement could open a new path forward, even amid uncertainty in global trade. As technology advances, the scope for cooperation between the two manufacturing economies could expand. India's recent export growth to China may well be a starting point.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn