MoU with China will bring 'order' in trade balance: Govt

Sitharaman said India was importing more from China, it was exporting little to that country

An MoU signed with China on establishment of industrial parks in India will help improve the "skewed" trade imbalance between the two neighbours, government said today.

The MoU, signed during the recent visit of Vice President Hamid Ansari to China, will help New Delhi bring "some order" to the skewed nature of the trade imbalance which currently favours Beijing, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha.

She said while India was importing more from China, it was exporting little to that country. As a result, the imbalance stood at US dollars 36 billion.

Once industrial parks are set up in India, imports from China will fall, helping improve the imbalance.

Responding to a supplementary, she said the government is taking more steps on issues like dumping, presence of toxic substances in goods, especially toys and protection to local manufacturing units.

The MoU on industrial parks is aimed at attracting Chinese investments in India and provides an enabling framework for Chinese companies to invest in industrial parks and zones.

Under the MoU, the two countries have agreed to cooperate to increase mutual investment in each other's economies and this cooperation will be in accordance with relevant domestic laws and regulations of each party and on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.

An Industrial Park Cooperation Working Group made up of equal number of representatives from both the countries will be set up to identify and agree upon the detailed modalities for implementing cooperation under this agreement and will periodically review the progress.