The government is aggressively working on boosting trade with China in an effort to tame the ballooning trade deficit, that touched $20 billion n 2010-11.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is working on a China-specific strategy paper to identify the areas in which it can leverage Indian shipments to China.
While imports from China had been rising at a blistering pace since 2005, India has failed to increase its shipments to China. Exports to China have more than doubled in the last five years, but it failed to keep pace with China in terms of pricing and market access.
“We are working on a strategy paper to increase our trade with China. This will be done by focusing on certain key areas where we can increase our exports. But that does not mean we will have any restrictions on imports. There is no proposal on curbing imports from China or raising tariffs on Chinese goods”, according to a senior official.
Total export to China reached $19.6 billion in 2010-2011 from $8.32 billion in 2006-07, while cumulative imports from China topped $43.7 billion last year from $17.47 billion, according to data.
According to a study done by Assocham, India and China would become the world’s largest trading partners by 2030.
