India raises trade gap issue with China

Bali (Indonesia), Nov 18 (PTI) Raising the issue of a big trade imbalance in favour of China, India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday told his China counterpart Wen Jiabao it needs to be corrected for a "more conducive" business environment even as he invited greater engagement with the world's fastest growing economy. Singh and Wen discussed the issue of "robust" economic ties during their meeting here, as they recognised that it was the "core" of the relationship. The Prime Minister "underlined the need for balanced trade to create more conducive environment pertaining to considerably untapped potential," Sanjay Singh, Secretary (East) in India's Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters while briefing on the meeting. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia Summits. The trade gap in favour of China has been a matter of concern in India, as it is linked particularly to the closed services sector in China. China had a trade surplus of USD 20 billion with India in 2010. Sanjay Singh said the two leaders expressed happiness over bilateral trade crossing the USD 60 billion mark in 2010. It is projected to touch USD 70 billion this year. They expressed confidence that the trade target of USD 100 billion would be achieved by 2015. PTI