India seeks China's help to reduce trade deficit

Indian Minister of State of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday sought China's help in reducing the trade deficit between the two countries.

Meeting China's Commerce Minister Zhong Shan on the sidelines of the 7th BRICS Trade Ministers meeting in Shanghai, Sitharaman said China should facilitate greater market access and provide a level playing field for Indian IT, pharmaceuticals and agro products.

The meeting comes after their first meeting on the sidelines of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Ministerial meeting in Hanoi in May 2017.

The ministers underscored the complementarities between the two fastest growing economies and agreed to further intensify efforts to realize the full potential of their mutually beneficial cooperation.

They exchanged views, in a candid manner, on further development of a strong, balanced and sustainable trade and investment partnership between India and China.

The ministers also agreed to further intensify Sino-Indian cooperation in the plurilateral and multilateral frameworks such as WTO, BRICS and SCO.

Sitharaman reiterated her invitation to Zhong Shan to visit India for the 11th Joint Economic Group (JEG) meeting.

--IANS

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