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India to press for market access of its goods and services with China

Last Updated 21 March 2018, 15:54 IST

Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu is expected to raise India's trade imbalance with China when the two countries hold their bilateral discussion in New Delhi on Monday.

India will also ask China for an increased market access for its goods and services with a view to increasing exports.

"We are very keen on reducing trade deficit with China. We will discuss that issue bilaterally next week," Prabhu told reporters here.

Bilateral trade between India and China has grown four-fold in the past decade. But the trade is highly tilted in favour of China. Currently, China is India's fourth biggest export destination. Though bilateral trade jumped from $2.71 billion in 2001 to around 70 billion in 2016, China exported around 60.48 billion and imported 9 billion during 2016.

Last year, trade deficit with China rose to $52 billion. India has been pressing China to open up its pharmaceutical and IT software sectors to expand the base of Indian exports. Sectors like telecom and power too use China's manufactured items on a large scale.

India's top 10 imports from China comprise 79% of the overall imports to China. The majority of the share is held by electrical equipment at 34.5%, followed by mechanical appliances (17.7%) and organic chemicals (9.2%), among others, according to an industry study.

India's top 10 export items to China comprise 73% of the overall exports to China. Majority of the share is held by cotton at 14.2%, followed by ores, slag and ash at 13.1% and organic chemicals at 8.8% among others.

The lack of demand for iron ore from India by China also has hugely contributed to the trade deficit between the two countries.

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(Published 21 March 2018, 15:54 IST)

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