New Delhi, April 18 -- Data for 2024-25 released this week shows a notable shift in India's trade trends with its big partners.

With the US, India's merchandise exports jumped 11.6% to $86.5 billion last fiscal year, while imports rose 7.4% to $45.3 billion.

As a result, our bilateral trade surplus widened to $41.2 billion.

In contrast, our exports to China fell 14.5% to $14.3 billion, even as imports shot up 11.5% to $113.5 billion, widening our trade deficit to $99.2 billion.

Maybe US President Donald Trump could say he told us so. India is outdoing the US on two-way flows and China is outselling almost every country.

Yet, it's odd to suggest that these gaps in themselves are unfair. It is myopic to look at bilateral balances in is...