ID :
174991
Tue, 04/12/2011 - 21:24
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/174991
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Trade deficit with China matter of concern
Ajay Kaul
(PTI) Ahead of the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao, India Tuesday said trade imbalance in favour of China was a matter of concern and India had sought greater market access to bridge it.
The issue is expected to come up during the talks between
Singh and Hu tomorrow in the Chinese resort of Sanya on the
sidelines of Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS)
Summit.
"Trade imbalance with China has been a matter of concern.
It has been discussed at the highest level when the Prime
Minister met Chinese President in Hanoi in October last,"
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told journalists
accompanying the Prime Minister.
He noted that the trade imbalance in favour of China had
gone up to USD 20 billion in the overall bilateral trade of
USD 55 billion as of December 2010. The imbalance was about
USD 16 billion till 2009.
Pointing out that the Prime Minister had termed the
imbalance as "untenable", Sharma said India had sought more
access in Chinese markets across the board so that the gap
could be bridged.
He said China had assured India that it would give access
through government contracts in sectors like pharmaceuticals
and IT.
"We are trying our best to close the gap," said Sharma
who was travelling with the Prime Minister to attend the BRICS
Summit and the preceding BRICS meeting of Trade and Economy
Ministers.
To a question, Sharma said India welcomes investments
from everywhere, including China.
When pointed out that India had barred Chinese
investments in certain sectors citing security concerns, he
said some areas were sensitive in the context of national
security and it was not specific to China.
In this regard, he noted that in December 2009, India had
banned import of all mobile phones which did not have IEMI
numbers (specific numbers that a handset carries which enables
tracking it in case of a need).
With regard to China pushing Yuan as an alternate to
dollar as currency exchange for trade, Sharma said such a
stage had not been reached to warrant a comment.
National Security Adviser Shivshanker Menon said the
BRICS countries, at the upcoming Summit, would be signing an
agreement under which the five member countries could grant
credit among themselves in own currency.
On making Yuan as the international reserve currency,
Menon said it was a larger issue that could not be settled by
five countries.
Sharma said the BRICS countries, which are fastest
growing economies and projected to contribute 48 per cent to
the global economy in the next decade, would discuss their
role in addressing the international financial and economic
crisis.
As part of the evolution process of BRICS, the Trade and
Economy Ministers would be meeting for the first time to take
stock of the international economic situation and their inputs
would go to the Summit on Thursday.
The BRICS countries have been pushing for restructuring
of the global financial architecture to make it more
representative. PTI AKK
RET
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(PTI) Ahead of the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao, India Tuesday said trade imbalance in favour of China was a matter of concern and India had sought greater market access to bridge it.
The issue is expected to come up during the talks between
Singh and Hu tomorrow in the Chinese resort of Sanya on the
sidelines of Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS)
Summit.
"Trade imbalance with China has been a matter of concern.
It has been discussed at the highest level when the Prime
Minister met Chinese President in Hanoi in October last,"
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told journalists
accompanying the Prime Minister.
He noted that the trade imbalance in favour of China had
gone up to USD 20 billion in the overall bilateral trade of
USD 55 billion as of December 2010. The imbalance was about
USD 16 billion till 2009.
Pointing out that the Prime Minister had termed the
imbalance as "untenable", Sharma said India had sought more
access in Chinese markets across the board so that the gap
could be bridged.
He said China had assured India that it would give access
through government contracts in sectors like pharmaceuticals
and IT.
"We are trying our best to close the gap," said Sharma
who was travelling with the Prime Minister to attend the BRICS
Summit and the preceding BRICS meeting of Trade and Economy
Ministers.
To a question, Sharma said India welcomes investments
from everywhere, including China.
When pointed out that India had barred Chinese
investments in certain sectors citing security concerns, he
said some areas were sensitive in the context of national
security and it was not specific to China.
In this regard, he noted that in December 2009, India had
banned import of all mobile phones which did not have IEMI
numbers (specific numbers that a handset carries which enables
tracking it in case of a need).
With regard to China pushing Yuan as an alternate to
dollar as currency exchange for trade, Sharma said such a
stage had not been reached to warrant a comment.
National Security Adviser Shivshanker Menon said the
BRICS countries, at the upcoming Summit, would be signing an
agreement under which the five member countries could grant
credit among themselves in own currency.
On making Yuan as the international reserve currency,
Menon said it was a larger issue that could not be settled by
five countries.
Sharma said the BRICS countries, which are fastest
growing economies and projected to contribute 48 per cent to
the global economy in the next decade, would discuss their
role in addressing the international financial and economic
crisis.
As part of the evolution process of BRICS, the Trade and
Economy Ministers would be meeting for the first time to take
stock of the international economic situation and their inputs
would go to the Summit on Thursday.
The BRICS countries have been pushing for restructuring
of the global financial architecture to make it more
representative. PTI AKK
RET
The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this message are intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain proprietary, confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately and destroy all copies of this message and any attachments contained in it.
