CHINA AND INDIA: BILATERAL TRADE

INDIA, CHINA BILATERAL TRADE SET TO HIT $100 BILLION BY 2015

Shobhan Saxena

The Times of India, June 22, 2012

RIO DE JANEIRO: In their 13th meeting in eight years, Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Wen Jiabao on Wednesday decided to take the India-China relationship to the next level by giving a boost to trade and priority to resolving the border dispute between the two countries. Going into a huddle on the first day of the Rio+20 conference here, the Indian Prime Minister, who calls Wen his 'close friend', and his Chinese counterpart agreed to take steps to ensure that the bilateral trade between the two emerging economies reaches $100 billion (about Rs 5,60,000 cr) by 2015. The two-way trade between the two countries reached $74 billion in 2011, with China becoming one of the largest trade partners of India and vice versa.

With the delegates and officials of almost all 190 countries present here keeping an eye on the India-China bilateral, the prime ministers of two emerging economies of Asia emerged from their 40-minute meeting after agreeing to boost trade and also give top priority to defence and security dialogue between the two countries.

Speaking to media after the crucial meeting, India foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai said during the meeting, the Indian prime minister invited Chinese investment in infrastructure in India. "The two leaders also decided to start the export of Indian rice to China soon," the foreign secretary said, adding that the issue of trans-border rivers flowing in India and China also figured in the talks which took place on the sidelines of the UN summit on sustainable development.

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