Resolve trade imbalance, strategic issues with China: Assocham

NEW DELHI: India and China need to further boost bilateral business ties and resolve strategic issues, including trade imbalance and dumping of goods, during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit here next month, industry body Assocham has said.

India's trade deficit with China is expected to rise to $ 43 billion in 2012-13, up from $40 billion in the previous fiscal.

A large trade imbalance has been a matter of concern and should again be raised at the highest level with the Chinese leadership. Indian exports of several items, especially drugs and pharmaceuticals face trade barriers in China.

The chamber said: "We are looking forward to the proposed visit of new Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to India next month and are confident that the two countries would be able to resolve their strategic differences, including that of the border."

Keeping in mind huge business interest it has in India, China is unlikely to pursue its border issues aggressively with the country as that could hurt its business and trade relations, Assocham said.

"It is in the best interest of the two neighbourly countries that their relations improve and are cemented through expanding commercial engagement," it added.

Assocham said that during 2012-13, imports from China may well have exceeded $57 billion, while India's exports to that country may not have gone beyond $14 billion.

In the previous fiscal, China had a trade surplus of $40 billion against India.

The business chamber noted that a large-scale dumping of Chinese goods hurt interest of the Indian businessmen and manufacturers in their own markets.

Most of the damage has been done to the small and medium enterprises which find it difficult to compete with the economies of scale from aggressive exporters.