Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan [Chinanews.com]

At the invitation of Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu, the Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan attended the 11th India-China Joint Economic Group (JEG) meeting on Mar. 26 in New Delhi. His visit demonstrated a new dynamic in the India-China economic and trade partnership in the looming specter of a trade war with the United States. Without a doubt, a more intimate and strategic trade relationship between India and China is much needed to stand together against Donald Trump's harsh protectionist measures towards both countries, which have drawn worldwide objections.

Established in 1988, the JEG has made positive contributions to the trade and economic relations between the two neighboring countries for thirty years. Zhong Shan's appearance in New Delhi is the first visit by a senior Chinese official to India since China's new government took office in March. As bilateral ties continue to improve, despite some ups and downs in China-India relations as a whole, the Chinese minister's visit has sent a critical and timely message of good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation between China and India to the "America First" protectionist camp.

From an Indian perspective, the JEG is an important platform for enhancing trade cooperation with the world's second largest economy, with which the widening trade deficit is triggering concerns for Indian industry and policy makers. In 2016-17, India had a $51.1 billion trade deficit with China, which grew to $52.9 billion in the April-January period of 2017-18. As such, to safeguard Indian interests and to make the trade relationship fairer, at the 11th JEG meeting Suresh Prabhu raised the issue of the heavy trade imbalance with China and sought steps to facilitate Indian exports in areas including pharmaceutical and agricultural products and information technology services.

The Chinese minister "promised to address the trade deficit between the two countries" and proposed a seven-point proposal on economic cooperation, which includes two-way trade relations, promotion of each other's major projects – namely China's Belt and Road Initiative and India's Make in India and Digital India – plus a greater focus on a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and e-dialogue. Zhong's proposal will certainly unlock the potential for a balanced and mutually beneficial cooperation in the new era. He encouraged India and China to communicate and coordinate further, calling the JEG a "complete success."

In fact, China-India economic cooperation has been expanding rapidly since the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India in September 2014 and the return visit of Prime Minister Modi to China in May 2015. Under the sage leadership of both countries, economic and trade mechanisms like JEG, the India China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SED) and China-India Financial Dialogue have played increasingly prominent roles in the development of trade and investment relations between Asia's two biggest countries. 

Today, India is China's largest trading partner in South Asia and ninth largest export market in the world. India-China trade reached an unprecedented rise of $84.5 billion in 2017, an 18.63 percent increase compared with the year before. 

According to Li Baijun, the economic and commercial counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, China's imports from India have risen more than 20 percent, while export to India remains nearly the same. On the other hand, according to Chinese customs data, Sino-Indian bilateral trade surged 26.1 percent on a yearly basis in the first two months of 2018. In 2017, Chinese companies also invested roughly $311 million in India, and Indian companies invested close to $150 million in China. Surely, such trade figures lend credence to the strength of China-India ties.

In 2018, China will host the first China International Import Exposition (CIIE) on Nov. 5-10 in Shanghai, to which Zhong welcomed India's participation. The event is sure to open new avenues for goods from India and all over the world to enter Chinese markets.

During Zhong's visit, businesses of both countries inked 101 trade deals worth US$2.368 billion in total. Moreover, his visit raised hopes of finalizing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to enhance the scale and rebalance bilateral trade by increasing China's import from India. These actions hold high promise and strong confidence in the economic front of the "dance of the Dragon and the Elephant."　

With the rise worldwide of anti-globalization sentiments and trade protectionism, it is an opportune time for two close neighbors to speak out in one voice against the White House's threat of a trade war. We can only hope that India and China will steer trade cooperation to bring real benefits to the governments, business communities and ordinary people on both sides.

Rabi Sankar Bosu, Secretary of New Horizon Radio Listeners' Club, West Bengal, India

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

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