CII calls for better trade connectivity with China

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has recommended a reduction in transaction costs for Indian businesses through facilitation of trade and an improvement in infrastructure.

The industry body, in its five-pronged strategy to boost India-China trade, has suggested improving the trade connectivity with China through an increase in frequency on direct shipping routes and expansion of cargo facilities through dedicated terminals and ports.

However, two areas for concern for Indian industry were India's growing trade deficit with its neighbour and the concentration of a few products in India's exports to China, it said.

Meanwhile, the government has said it will not block Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from China, except in some sectors considered sensitive for India's national security.

"We have to deepen the engagement with China to increase bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2010. We hope to attract foreign investment from China," Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar said at a CII conference on India-China trade.

"China and India will work together, but we have to recognise that there will be competition between the two countries in markets, technology, raw materials, and energy," he said.