'China must address trade deficit'

India has said it is important for China to address the ballooning trade deficit in the larger interest of bilateral ties to avoid the impression of an unfair relationship.

He said a way has to be found to address the issue of balance of trade, which is in favour of China.

"From the (Indian) government perspective the trade deficit is a matter of concern. One it is very large", Indian Ambassador to China, S Jaishankar, said answering questions from Chinese media.

He was addressing a press conference today at the sixth China International Auto Part Expo in which India is nominated as "partner country".

"If the trade deficit comes out of a perception of unequal market access than it actually, frankly, it is not good for the relationship because it does not give an impression of a fair relationship¿, the Indian envoy said.

"So I think It is very important to find a way of dealing with this deficit issue so that it is good for the larger relationship", he said.

He acknowledged that some Indian IT companies are getting contracts as a result of bilateral initiatives.

Jaishankar also said the Chinese government is responding to India's feeling of ballooning deficit and it is in the mutual interest of the two countries in the current economic slow down to do more business.

In the IT sector Indian companies are getting contracts, he said, adding even though it was not much of success in pharma sector yet.

The trade deficit for India in the first half of this year stood at USD 13.6 billion compared to USD 13.4 billion last year.

China has agreed to address it in the recent Commerce Ministers talks held in New Delhi.

Earlier speaking at the inauguration of the event yesterday, Jaishankar said while bilateral trade last year touched USD 74 billion, it has posed its own challenges in terms of a deficit which reached of USD 27 billion, "which is difficult to sustain or to defend".

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