Speaking during a panel discussion in Singapore, the minister said India remained skeptical over “unfair” market access and “Chinese protectionist policies” that have created a significant trade deficit between the two nations. India’s trade deficit with China was US$53.6 billion in the financial year that ended earlier in March this year.
“The big concerns of India are of course, one, its relationship with China because we have an enormous trade deficit with China,” Jaishankar said in response to a question regarding the ongoing negotiations for the world’s biggest trade deal, known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Negotiators have expressed hope that RCEP – which includes all 10 of Southeast Asia’s Asean countries, as well as Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India and China – would be delivered by the end of the year.
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