India Challenges China's Claim as Sri Lanka's Top Trading Partner

Colombo: India has asserted that it remains Sri Lanka's largest trading partner. This response came after a spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India claimed that China has become Sri Lanka's "No. 1 trading partner." India then opened China's claims. High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha shared the trade figures of India's Department of Commerce and said that the total bilateral trade between India and Sri Lanka has reached US $6.4 billion in 2025. Earlier, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Yu Jing cited Sri Lanka's Central Bank's figures to claim that China-Sri Lanka trade reached US $5 billion in 2025. On the other hand, according to the data shared by Santosh Jha, Sri Lanka's exports to India increased from US $689 million in 2020 to US $1.53 billion in 2025, while the total bilateral trade last year was US $ID1 billion. Sri Lanka's second largest export trade partner for India is the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA).