India on Wednesday asked Chinese companies to invest here and set up manufacturing units to help bridge the widening trade gap between the countries, which stood at $36 billion in 2013-14.

Expressing concerns over ballooning trade deficit with China, Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Amitabh Kant, said that huge scope is available in India for Chinese firms to relocate their manufacturing units.

“It is important that Chinese companies come to invest in India because the trade imbalance is unsustainable in the long run. It will be difficult to continue this business unless and until Chinese companies relocate and manufacture in India and from India penetrate the global market,” Kant said.

He was addressing Ficci’s India - China (Zhejiang) Business Cooperation Conference. The bilateral trade stood at $65.85 billion in 2013-14. India's imports from China were valued at $51.03 billion while exports were $14.82 billion in that period. Kant said that Indian government has taken a series of steps to improve business climate and ease of doing business. There is a need for a closer economic relationship between the countries to promote regional trade and development, he said, adding trade and economic relationship has seen a lack of progress in the last few years.

“This adverse trade is not sustainable in the long run. China is the factory of the world and India is the back office of the world ... If China and India works together, we will be able to facilitate global markets,” he said.