China today refuted allegations of restricting access to Indian software companies, saying there are no impediments as several firms are securing contracts in the country.
Vice Minister for Industry and IT, Yang Xueshan, in a rare interaction with the India media said there were no impediments to enter the lucrative Chinese market, as generally perceived by the Indian IT industry.
His comments came as India sought more opening for IT, its top export product, to reduce the ballooning trade imbalance.
Earlier in the day, India and China today signed an agreement at the third Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) to improve cooperation in the field of IT.
India is strong in software whereas China is strong in electronics and information technology, he told PTI on the sidelines of the SED.
Asked whether Chinese state-owned enterprises would cooperate with Indian IT products regarded highly all over the world, he said there are no impediments and indicated that several firms including foreign companies have been securing contracts.
He said there are complementarities between India and China on the IT front.
Asked whether the MOU would help to boost export of Indian IT products to China, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the agreement is essentially is a "formal recognition that we want to promote little more cooperation in this area".
He said while there is no bar on Indian IT products, Indian firms have to find their own market in China.
He specially cited TCS which secured some of the Chinese contracts while other top Indian IT firms mainly survives on multinational contracts in China.
India flaunt IT and Pharma as the main products which could help reduce some of the USD 35 billion trade imbalance in the USD 66. 5 billion bilateral trade last year.
While Ahluwalia said the deficit is no longer sustainable, Indian officials said it virtually amounted to India borrowing from abroad to finance the imbalance with China and Chinese recognise that.
To offset the imbalance, India is pitching for opening for IT and Pharma besides stepped up Chinese investments in India, which currently amounted to less than USD one billion.
India now offered industrial parks to encourage Chinese investments to offset the imbalance.
