India, China hold 3rd Lt Gen talks

NEWDELHI: Senior Indian and Chinese commanders on Tuesday held an hours-long meeting at Chushul in Ladakh as part of ongoing efforts at the military level to cool heightened border tensions that have soured bilateral ties between the two neighbours, even as the military build-up on both sides of the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) continues unabated, people familiar with developments said on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity.

The talks between the army delegations, led by corps commander-ranked officers, began at around 11 am and were still on till the time of filing of this report. There was no official word from the army on the talks. A breakthrough is unlikely at this stage but talks will go on, said one of the persons cited above. This was the third meeting between the delegations led by Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, commander of the Lehbased 14 Corps, and Major General Liu Lin, commander of the South Xinjiang military region; and the second after the brutal clash at Galwan Valley that left 20 Indian and an unconfirmed number of Chinese soldiers dead. The Galwan Valley clash, which took place while a previous disengagement process was on, has created trust deficit between the two sides, said a second person.

THIS WAS THE THIRD

MEETING BETWEEN THE DELEGATIONS LED BY LT GEN HARINDER SINGH OF THE LEH-BASED 14 CORPS, AND MAJ GEN LIU LIN OF THE SOUTH XINJIANG REGION

NEW DELHI: India suspects that China could be engaging in unfair trade practices by supplying goods and investments through a third party such as Hong Kong and Singapore, but may not bar legitimate Chinese trade and investments in India while scanning them from the perspective of national interest, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Data suggests significant indirect inflow of Chinese goods and investments through locations with which India has free trade agreements (FTAs), preferential trade agreements (PTAs) or other bilateral commercial arrangements. This is not only illegal but also injuring domestic industry, the people said, requesting anonymity.

The development comes a day after the Narendra Modi govenment announced ban on 59 mostly Chinese mobile applications citing concerns that these are “prejudicial to sovereignty , defence of India, security of state and public order.”

Data shows that total foreign direct investment (FDI) from China is minuscule, but many Indian firms have received Chinese investments. Similarly, imports from China have registered a minor decline recently, but at the same time imports from Hong Kong and Singapore have surged. These figures show that something is amiss and needs to be probed, one of the people cited above, who works in an economic ministry, said.

According to the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), while India’s trade deficit with China narrowed by $6.05 billion to $51.25 billion in 2019, the gap with Hong Kong widened sharply by $5.8 billion in 2019, nullifying almost all the gains.

Similarly, India trade deficit with Singapore was $5.82 billion in the previous financial year, the person mentioned above said.

“The principal imports from Hong Kong, which have shown a significant increase, are electrical and electronic products where imports jumped from $1.3 billion to $8.6 billion between 2017 and 2019,” FIEO director general and chief executive officer Ajay Sahai said. The increase in imports is definitely a setback to domestic industry, he said. “If the goods made in China are re-routed through Hong Kong and Singapore, showing such origin of products, customs can always ask importers to provide the proof of adhering to the Rules of Origin,” he said.

A second person working in economic ministry said, “Even the Chinese FDI inflow also appears skewed.” The latest official data shows foreign direct investment from China between April 2000 and March 2020 was $2.378.71 billion, which is 0.51% of the total FDI inflow into the country in the two decades.

Email queries sent to ministries of finance and commerce did not elicit any response.

DATA SUGGESTS INDIRECT INFLOW OF CHINESE GOODS AND INVESTMENTS THROUGH LOCATIONS WITH WHICH INDIA HAS FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS