Commodities

India, China leaders talk trade and not territorial dispute


Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G20 Summit on September 4, 2016 in Hangzhou, China.Lintao Zhang | Getty ImagesIndian school students wear masks of China’s President Xi Jinping in Chennai on October 10, 2019.Arun Sankar | AFP | Getty ImagesIndian leaders have made it very clear that the country is open to collaborating with China, Jaishankar said. But that cooperation will be on a case-by-case basis, as India has some of the same concerns in working with China as Washington has cited, he said.For example, the trade deficit between India and China stands at $53.57 billion in Beijing’s favor — the largest imbalance New Delhi has with any country. Still, that towering figure is down from $63.05 billion a year ago. Following the summit, Reuters reported that Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said Beijing will look at ways to trim its trade deficit with New Delhi.Xi and Modi may have recognized that the ties between Beijing and New Delhi are “below potential,” Jaishankar said. As the U.S. and China try to resolve their protracted trade war, Xi and Modi may hope to establish a more stable relationship amid global uncertainty.”So we have seen an increase, for example, in Chinese investment in India, not just greenfield investment but also portfolio investment, including in the tech sector, quite significantly, and then more by the Chinese private sector companies rather than state-owned enterprises,” said Jaishankar.New Delhi is working together with Beijing in battling climate change, but in defense and education, Jaishankar said, there’s a “natural alignment” for India and the U.S.

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