RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2092
TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.07.2019
BORDER CONFLICT WITH CHINA
2092. DR. ASHOK BAJPAI:
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) whether border conflict with China has affected trade balance in any way with China;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) if not, the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]
(a) & (c) India and China have each appointed a Special Representative (SR) to explore the framework for a boundary settlement from the political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship. There have been twenty one meetings of SRs so far with the
last meeting held in Chengdu on 24 November 2018. The two sides have agreed to seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question through dialogue and negotiations.
India’s trade relations with China have expanded considerably – from a mere US$ 3 billion in the year 2000 to more than US$ 95 billion in 2018. While India’s exports to China have grown, imports from China have grown much faster. Widening trade deficit for
India with China is matter of concern. The Government has taken up the matter, including at the highest level, to raise these concerns and stress the need for balancing the trade. A Joint Economic Group led by the Commerce Ministers of the two countries is
seeking to address this issue. The need for greater market access in China in areas where India has globally recognized strengths, such as pharmaceuticals, IT and IT enabled services, agricultural products etc. has been conveyed to the Chinese side.
At the Wuhan Informal Summit in April 2018, the two leaders agreed to push forward bilateral trade and investment in a balanced and sustainable manner by taking advantage of complementarities between their two economies.
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