India-China trade may touch $100 bn by 2015

The two-way trade between India and China is expected to touch $100 billion by 2015, 50.6 per cent higher than $66.4 billion recorded in 2012.

"Our target for bilateral trade between India and China is $100 billion by 2015 compared to $66.4 billion in 2012. Trade volume between the two countries had declined to $66.4 billion from $73.9 billion in 2011," Zhang Lizhong, Chinese consul general in Kolkata said during an interactive session organised here recently by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Trade volume between the two emerging economies shank in 2012 as India's exports to China fell 16 per cent mainly due to a 30 per cent export duty levied on iron ore shipped abroad. Imports of power and telecom equipment from China also saw a downtrend in 2012.

Talking on the Chinese economy, Lizhong said, "In 2013, we hope to maintain a stable and relatively fast economic growth of 7.5 per

cent. Our focus is on quality and efficiency, not speed. But this is also for the first time in the last 10 years that our growth rate will be slower than eight per cent."

He said China also had plans to double its GDP size by 2020 compared to $6.04 trillion in 2010.

Lizhong said, energy savings, infrastructure, tourism, information technology and agriculture are the possible areas of cooperation between Indian and China.

"In 2012, 136,000 Chinese tourists visited India in 2012, an increase of 15.2 per cent over the last year. Odisha offers a vast scope for pulling Chinese tourists because of its huge potential for Buddhist tourism," he added.

Commenting on tie-up in the agriculture sector, Lizhong said, "In 2006, India and China signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors. Odisha is also keen to collaborate with us for hybrid rice technology."

Image: India's Trade Minister Anand Sharma (L) and China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming.