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BEIJING, Apr 18 (PTI): China's leading trade body yesterday demanded early Indian action to grant 'market economy' status to the communist giant, the world's third largest trading nation and called for the opening up of the retail sector.
"India should take serious consideration on the recognition of the market economy status of China to further the business relationship between the two countries," Assistant Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Wang Jinzhen said.
"I can tell you that 95 per cent of the commodities in China are regulated by the market forces without any intervention by the government," Wang said while addressing a CEO's Business Summit, organised jointly by the India's FICCI and its Chinese coutnerpart CCPIT here.
A delegation of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is currently visiting China to attend the summit.
"Chinese enterprises are responsible for their gains and losses themselves without financial support from the government. Normally, they cannot buy or even export lower than their cost.
This is the fact in China right now," he said.
India has not yet granted 'market economy' status to China, which became a full-fledged member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001, he said while noting that nearly 50 countries, including the ASEAN have recognised China as a 'market economy.'
Countries and regions like the United States, India and the European Union have not yet granted 'market economy' status to China.
According to statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, India has initiated over 90 anti-dumping investigations against Chinese products, two on safeguard measures and one investigation on special safeguard measures.
Another report adds: Sino-Indian bilateral trade is expected to exceed 20 billion US dollars this year and the figure may even touch 100 billion US dollars in six years, senior trade officials from both side said here yesterday.
Sino-Indian bilateral trade is expected to exceed 20 billion US dollars this year and the figure may even reach 100 billion dollars in six years, Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Wan Jifei said.
"Last year, bilateral two-way trade rose to 18.7 billion US dollars, up 37.5 per cent over 2004. If this trend continues, according to our estimate, in 2006, the two-way trade, will surpass that in 2005 to 20 billion US dollars," Wan said in his opening address at the FICCI-CCPIT CEOs Business Summit here.
President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Saroj Kumar Poddar said he remained highly optimistic about the prospects of India-China bilateral trade.
Poddar, also Chairman of Gillette India Limited and Poddar Heritage Enterprises told the meeting that bilateral trade could reach 100 billion US dollars six years from now and Indian investment in China may exceed one billion dollars within the coming five years.
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