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Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is ramping up the import of goods from India and scaling back its dependency on China.

Between January and August of this year, about a quarter of Walmart’s US imports originated from India, a significant increase from just 2% in 2018. However, China remains Walmart’s primary import source despite a decrease from 80% to 60% in the same period.

This shift in Walmart’s sourcing strategy is a response to rising import costs from China and growing political tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Andrea Albright, Walmart’s Executive Vice President of Sourcing, emphasized the need for resilient supply chains, highlighting the importance of not depending on a single supplier or geography. In an interview with Reuters, Albright said, “We want the best prices. That means I need resiliency in our supply chains. I can’t be reliant on any one supplier or geography for my product because we’re constantly managing things from hurricanes and earthquakes to shortages in raw materials.”

This comes as Walmart has significantly expanded its presence in India since acquiring a majority stake in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart in 2018 and committing to import $10 billion of goods from India annually by 2027. The company’s annual imports from India, currently around $3 billion, include diverse products like toys, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and packaged food. India’s growing workforce and technological advancements have made it an attractive manufacturing hub.