Beijing Is Keen To Promote Balanced Trade With New Delhi: China’s Consul General
India hardly exports USD 30 billion worth of merchandise to China, though the latter imports USD 2 trillion worth of goods from across the globe, said Kong Xianhua, Consul General, Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China.
“We are keen to promote a balanced trade with India,” the Consul General said at an interactive session organised by MVIRDC World Trade Centre Mumbai.
According to January figures issued by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) in Beijing, two-way commerce increased by 8.4 per cent last year to USD 135.98 billion, with India's imports accounting for USD 118.5 billion, up from USD 97.5 billion.
Exports from India to China decreased from USD 28.1 billion to USD 17.48 billion. The trade imbalance increased by 45 per cent to USD 101.02 billion in 2021, from USD 69.4 billion.
“Indian companies should look at the Chinese market seriously by creating awareness about their local brands in the Chinese market. I invite Indian entrepreneurs to visit China and identify potential buyers for their products,” Xianhua said with the objective of exploring the huge untapped export potential for India.
Stating that many Chinese entrepreneurs are interested to visit India to explore new trade and investment opportunities, Xianhua said, “I intend to facilitate the bilateral exchange of trade and business delegation to promote two-way trade and investment. I also propose to organize an India-China Entrepreneur Summit in Mumbai to strengthen two-way investment.”
Earlier in his welcome remarks, Vijay Kalantri, Chairman of MVIRDC WTC Mumbai pointed out, “Economic cooperation plays an important role in strengthening bilateral ties between India and China. India’s trade with China grew from a meagre USD 2 billion 15 years ago to more than USD 150 billion. But the major cause of concern is that the official trade deficit with China is USD 100 billion and if we include the unofficial imports, then the total deficit runs to more than USD 150 billion as a lot of Chinese goods are routed to India through Hong Kong, Dubai, Nepal, Sri Lanka and other Asian countries. In order to promote bilateral trade and reduce this deficit, both countries need to explore actionable steps to facilitate Indian exports to China.”
Speaking about the role of WTC Mumbai in promoting balanced bilateral trade, Kalantri said, “WTC Mumbai can work with the Chinese Consulate General in Mumbai to bring a delegation of Chinese buyers and organise a buyer-seller meet to promote Indian exports to the Chinese market.”
