Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma today emphasised a need for focusing on measures to reduce the widening trade deficit with China, even as he underscored the importance of increasing bilateral trade that currently stands at $60 billion.
India’s cumulative merchandise exports to China in 2009-10 was $178,751.43 million, while total imports were at $288,372.88 million. Its trade imbalance with China has risen from $(-)46,075.20 million in 2005-06 to $(-)109,621.45 million, according to official statistics.
“China has become our largest trading partner in the world, though the balance of trade lies heavily in favour of China and we would like to take measures to reduce this deficit. Despite crossing $60 billion, the potential between our two countries is far bigger, given that between our two countries, we are a combined market of $ 7 trillion,” Sharma said here today, while addressing the Chinese delegation.
He said India was aggressively looking at diversifying its export basket in order to expand its footprint in the non-traditional markets to boost the country’s merchandise exports, for which the government has set a target of $200 billion for 2011-12.
“These efforts matched by greater market access for Indian goods in China where we have competitive advantage will help in strengthening our bilateral economic relations,” he said, adding that as the two biggest neighbours in Asia, competition between both is natural.
Sharma said both countries could learn from each other in order to rise as the next economic powerhouses of the world.
“There is much that we can learn from each other and it is our collective duty to establish an institutional mechanism of greater business cooperation, to build greater synergies, greater trust and greater understanding between the businesses of both sides. A true spirit of cooperation will give a new dimension to our strategic relationship,” he said.
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Sharma sought greater cooperation and business collaboration in several sectors such as power, telecom, healthcare, infrastructure, education, energy, financial services sector and retail, among others.
India and China today signed as many as 48 memoranda of understanding. Some of them were signed between China Development Bank and Export & Import Bank of India, a $400-million facility agreement with ICICI Bank, Bank of China and IDBI and an agreement on iron ore import cooperation, among others.