Sino- Indian economic, trade ties growing
Cooperation has advanced to more sectors: MOFCOM
The economic and trade relations between China and India have maintained a steady growth momentum and there is still room for further cooperation, a spokesman with the Ministry of Commerce ( MOFCOM) said Thursday.
The comments came amid concerns about the prospects for Sino- Indian ties following a military stand- off on the border that lasted more than two months. India withdrew troops and equipment from Dong Lang ( Doklam) on Monday.
“China and India are important economic and trade partners and bilateral cooperation has maintained steady growth momentum,” Gao Feng, spokesperson for MOFCOM, told the Global Times. China is India’s largest trade partner globally, while India is China’s largest trade partner, investment destination and project contract market in the South Asian region, Gao said.
The cooperation between the two nations has advanced to more sectors and the scale has grown, Gao said, adding that China and India have achieved sound coordination under the cooperative framework of the BRICS countries.
Total trade volume between China and India stood at $ 70.15 billion for the whole of 2016, and from January to July this year the trade volume rose 21.5 percent year- on- year to $ 47.52 billion, MOFCOM data showed.
Cumulative investment in India from Chinese companies reached $ 5.06 billion by the end of July. India’s cumulative investment in the Chinese market was $ 721 million during the same period, Gao noted.
“Sino- Indian economic and trade cooperation has strong complementarity and large growth potential,” he said.
The current economic and trade relations have been promoted by efforts from leaders, governments and companies from the two sides, according to Gao.
As two large developing countries, China and India should adhere to a pragmatic and open attitude to implement the consensus of leaders from both countries, he said, noting that China and India can create a sound environment for bilateral economic and trade cooperation to realize mutual benefit and common development.