China ready for accelerated trade talks with India

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122405§ionid=3510213


China has voiced its readiness to accelerate talks with India aimed at negotiating a bilateral trade agreement in a bid to balance trade between the two Asian giants.

China expects trade between the two countries to rise to $60 billion this year, as both countries are recovering from the global crisis but there is a $16 billion trade deficit in China's favor that has been a bone of contention between the two countries.

China's ambassador to India Zhang Yan said that China was preparing for a bilateral trade deal with India "similar to a free trade agreement."

"The two countries should endeavor to reach a regional trade arrangement and take effective measures to remove trade and investment barriers," Financial Times quoted Zhang as saying.

He said steps were needed to "improve the trade configuration" and remedy the trade imbalance across the Himalayas.

Trade between the two countries has been growing at more than 30 percent a year in recent years.

However, about 70 per cent of India's exports to China are raw materials that then come back as higher value finished goods that undermine India's small and medium-sized businesses.