The matter was recently discussed during a meeting of Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Chinese Vice-Minister in Commerce Ministry Gao Yan. Both met on the sidelines of recently concluded Partnership Summit in Jaipur.
The Chinese Vice-Minister acknowledged the trade imbalance and said that the Chinese government was keen on promoting imports into the country from India.
"The minister (Sitharaman) expressed concern at the growing trade deficit which was USD 36 billion (in 2013-14). The Minister said that India has global competitive advantage in niche engineering products, pharmaceuticals, cotton textiles, home furnishings etc," an official release said today.
India has also expressed concerns over market access to agricultural and pharmaceutical products.
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Sitharaman also met Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed, Ghana Minister for Trade and Industry Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Australian Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb and discussed ways to boost economic ties.
The Doha Round, started in 2001, was stuck due to differences between developed and developing economies on several issues including on agriculture. While, the round has yet not concluded developed nations always pick issues of their interest and try to build consensus on those.
She emphasised that there should be no differentiation made amongst developing countries as regards commitments to be undertaken or in the matter of special and differential treatment for developing countries.