NEW DELHI: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said India and China have initiated fresh discussions on trade to expand market access for Indian exporters, following a meeting with his Chinese counterpart after a long gap.
On the sidelines of the WTO Ministerial meeting in Cameroon, Goyal had bilateral meeting with Chinese Minister and delegates to discuss trade issues .
“I also met after a long time the Minister from China, with whom we have discussed ways to expand trade, move towards more balanced trade, and generate trust to help smoothen bilateral trade between China and India and give greater opportunity for our exporters to export pharmaceuticals, to export engineering products, to export fish and pharma products. All in all, a good start, I would say, to generating greater opportunities for our exporters in China,” said the Minister.
Describing the interaction as “a good start”, Goyal said the two sides explored ways to build greater trust and smoothen trade flows, amid persistent concerns over India’s widening trade deficit with China.
This is the first time both the countries got into a discussion on trade after India backed out of the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations in 2019.
India has recently partially relaxed its strict foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations under Press Note 3 (2020), allowing minority investments (up to 10% beneficial ownership) from neighboring countries, which also include China, under the automatic route for certain manufacturing sectors.