India committed to improve trade relation with China: V K Singh

BEIJING: India today said it is committed to improve trade relation with China as it would be mutually beneficial and help further the 'Make In India' initiative that provides a golden opportunity for Chinese investors.

Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh, who led a 200-member business delegation to the 3rd China-South Asia Expo, made these remarks after taking part in the event where nearly 300 deals worth USD 55 billion have been signed.

India is the country of honour at the Expo in Kunming, capital of the southwestern Yunnan Province.

"GoI is committed 2improvin trade relatns w/ China, such a partnership wud be mutually beneficial n wil help further d #MakeInIndia initiative," Singh tweeted today.

He said the 'Make in India' initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi provides a golden opportunity for Chinese investors to invest in India.

"We hope dat #IndianManufactures will be able (to) increase the export of their products in the fields of #IT, #Pharma, #textiles, #Agro to China," he tweeted.

He said bridging the current 'trade imbalance' will be beneficial to both India and China.

India has said the "imbalanced" trade with China leading to a yawning USD 47 billion trade deficit needs to be "pro- actively" addressed through improved market access for Indian products with competitive advantage like those in IT and agro.

Last year, trade deficit climbed even more to cross USD 47 billion of the total USD 70.59 billion trade, which officials say accounted for one-third of India's total trade deficit.

Meanwhile, the contracts signed at the Expo included 255 domestic investment projects with a value of 300 billion yuan (USD 49 billion) and 44 foreign investment and trade deals worth USD 5.7 billion, sate-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Domestic investment covers infrastructure, electronics and information, pharmacy, tourism and energy.

Foreign investment contracts are related to agriculture, manufacturing, energy, culture and education.

The international deals involve companies from the US, Japan, France, Italy, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra heading a delegation from his state also attended the Expo.

The five-day expo, also the Kunming Import and Export Fair, opened yesterday, attracting more than 20,000 businessmen and 3,179 enterprises from some 70 countries or regions.