China paying subsidies, says EEPC chief

China might have been ahead of India in trade figures, but is lagging far behind in terms of transparency and fair trade practice, according to Rakesh Shah, chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC).

"China has been using several hidden subsidies in its trade estimates. The actions of Chinese exporters regarding exchange rate policy is also not very clear to India. China does not have a well laid trade policy and therefore, question of transparency does not even arise," said Shah while delivering the inaugural address at the 'Export-Import management course' organised by the Enterprise Development Institute (EDI) of the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI) jointly with the government of West Bengal.

China was not a pure market driven economyand therefore could use unfair means to make commercial gains, and exporters often received the support of the government to do this, added Shah.

China was ranked fourth globally in terms of its share in global exports while India was ranked 31.

In terms of global import share, China was ranked third while India was at rank 24.

Howver, India could overtake Japan if it managed to maintain a 6-8 per cent growth for the decade, Shah pointed out.

Commenting on the India brand, Shah said, "Previously, people used to think that 'Made in India' tag would lead to loss of markets, but today the perception has changed and the India tag fetches the exporters a ready market."

Developing countries were ready to accept capital goods from India, he added.

"Developing countries find Indian capital goods much better adapted to their conditions as compared to products from developed countries. Today, developing countries realise they might not have the expertise to operate very sophisticated machinery."