The Hindu Business Line : Trade with China inching towards $10-b mark

(From left) Mr Hua Junduo, Ambassador of China; Mr E.V.K.S. Elangovan, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry; Mr Sunil Kant Munjal, President, CII; and Mr Shao Qiwei, Leader of Chinese delegation and Vice-Governor, Yunnan, at the India China Business Conclave in the Capital on Tuesday. — Ramesh Sharma

New Delhi , Aug 3

INDIA-China trade has picked up and is moving towards the $10-billion mark, with trade registering robust growth on the export-import front.

China has become India's number one trading partner in the North-East Asian region, overtaking Japan, said Mr E.V.K.S. Elangovan, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, at the India China Business Conclave organised by CII.

"Another important feature of India's trade with NEA countries is that the highest imports are from China," he added.

The Minister said that while considerable improvement has been made in bilateral trade, yet there exists great scope for touching new heights and concluded that the Indian Government was committed to building long-term and sustainable economic relationship with China.

Chinese companies are building highways in India as part of the Golden Quadrilateral projects and supplying equipment for power plant, he said, and added that Indian companies can also contribute to some segments of infrastructure building, said Mr Elangovan.

The Minister also singled out textiles as one of the potential sectors of co-operation, says a CII release.

The services sector also holds great potential for co-operation, he said, particularly tourism, IT, healthcare and education.

The Central Silk Board of India and Yunan Province also inked an MoU for technological collaboration in Sericulture.

The Chinese delegation comprises 100 members and is also scheduled to visit Kolkata on August 6 for increasing trade links.

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