India and China hold trade expansion talks

India and China have held talks aimed at expanding bilateral trade, on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization’s ministerial conference, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

The talks between Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, come amid a thaw in trade tensions

“Met Mr. Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce of China, on the sidelines of the #WTOMC14. Exchanged views on the MC-14 agenda and discussed bilateral trade matters,” Goyal said in a post on X on Thursday.

This is the first time since New Delhi backed out of the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations in 2019 that the trade ministers of both sides held discussions.

Goyal said he discussed ways to expand trade and generate trust to facilitate bilateral trade with his Chinese counterpart.

The talks were aimed at providing greater opportunity for India’s pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, fish, and farm product exporters, he added.

Wang welcomed India’s active participation in initiatives such as the ‘Big Market for All: Export to China’, and encouraged New Delhi to make use of platforms, including the China International Import Expo and the China-South Asia Expo to expand exports.

India’s trade deficit with China surpassed $100 billion for the first time during the period of April-February.

The country’s exports to China increased nearly 38% to $17.5 billion, but imports also rose 15% to reach $119.55 billion.