India-China bilateral trade set to hit $100 bn

India-China bilateral trade set to hit $100 bn: Krishna


Beijing: India and China have set an ambitious bilateral trade target of USD 100 billion by 2015 compared to last year's record figure of USD 74 billion, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has said.

Bilateral economic and trade cooperation has witnessed a robust growth rate and India will continue to carry forward the positive momentum in ties, Krishna said.

"We have set a target of USD 100 billion for the year 2015 and I'm confident we will achieve this target," Krishna said in an interview to China's state-run Xinhua news agency.

In order to further enhance economic consultation and cooperation, last year the two sides have launched the Strategic Economic Dialogue mechanism, Krishna said.

"We will continue to work hard to maintain the positive momentum of bilateral trade with China," Krishna, who is in China on a visit to inaugurate the new Indian Embassy here, said.

Over all, India-China bilateral trade rose by USD 12.2 billion increase last year compared to 2010 when the total trade was USD 61.7 billion, according to official trade figures for 2011.

The trade deficit from January to December of 2011, however, piled up to USD 27.07 billion even though Indian exports to China went up to USD 23.4 billion registering a growth of almost 12.26 percent compared to the same period in year 2010.

Indian exports to China mainly composed of primary products and commodity sector increased despite the decline of iron ore exports, which dominated India's exports for long due to ban on mining in Karnataka and Goa, according to official sources.

Chinese exports to India continue to surge crossing the USD 50 billion mark. Chinese exports logged USD 50.04 billion registering a growth of 23.51 percent over 2010.

The share of India-China bilateral trade in China's overall trade increased to about 3.8 percent compared to 2.06 percent in 2010.

another reason why both side should think twice before beginning any stupid military actions on our borders......