india

Updated: Dec 22, 2018 11:14 IST

India is hopeful China will facilitate greater market access for its goods and services to tackle a swelling trade deficit, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Friday as she and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi launched a new mechanism to boost cultural exchanges.

Speaking after the first meeting of the high-level mechanism on cultural and people-to-people exchanges, Swaraj said the armed forces of the two sides were working on confidence-building measures to promote peace along the border.

Wang, who referred to India as China’s “most important neighbour” in his speech, said bilateral ties had “entered a new historical stage”. He said he and Swaraj had reviewed progress in various fields and looked at the possibility of future cooperation.

“Our bilateral economic relations have progressed well while our bilateral trade figures continue to rise. We also need to find a solution to the continuously increasing trade deficit,” Swaraj said, adding India is grateful for “concrete steps” taken by China recently to address this matter.

“We are confident we will receive continued support from the Chinese side so that we can increase our bilateral trade in a sustainable and balanced way and also in facilitating market access for Indian goods and services in China,” she said.

India has taken up the issue of greater market access, especially for agricultural products, pharmaceuticals and IT services, with China several times in the recent past, including during commerce secretary Anup Wadhawan’s visit to the neighbouring country in November.

Bilateral trade rose by 18.63% year-on-year in 2017 and touched a historic high of $89.71 billion in 2017-18. However, trade deficit increased to $63.12 billion in 2017-18 from $51.11 billion in the previous fiscal.

Swaraj said the armies of the two countries were “making efforts to strengthen contacts and implement various confidence-building measures”. She added, “This will help to promote peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas, which is an important prerequisite for smooth development of our bilateral relations.”

India and China are also working together on regional and international subjects and at multilateral forums such as G20, BRICS and SCO, she said. “At a time of global uncertainty, the relations between India and China are a factor of stability,” she said.

Expressing satisfaction at “good progress” in bilateral ties this year, Swaraj said both sides were preparing an “ambitious agenda” for 2019 and are confident President Xi Jinping’s visit to India next year for the second informal summit will “add another new facet” to the developmental partnership.

Neither leader referred to last year’s military standoff at Doklam that took ties to a new low. Following the informal summit between Xi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Wuhan in April, both sides have worked to put ties on an even keel.