Commerce and Industry Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman who arrived in Shanghai on July 31, is expected to raise concerns over a joint growth strategy for MSMEs with China in the BRICS meeting.
The seventh trade ministers meeting of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) is getting started from August 1, and will last for two days.
According to China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC), the five countries will be discussing about expanding e-Commerce cooperation in an upcoming annual meeting.
India organised a round-table on the MSME sector in 2016, and proposed a mechanism for cooperation to regulate tariffs, check non-tariff measures (NTMs), ensure transparency in sanitary and phytosanitary measures and exchange information on regulatory mechanisms.
Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also likely to make a stronger case for cooperation in non-tariff measures (NTMs), the services sector and standardisation and conformity assessments, an official told The Hindu Business Line.
Visas restrictions for the business community and e-Commerce between the two countries are likely to be discussed in the meeting.
Trade amongst BRICS nations in 2014 was just $297 billion which was less than five per cent of the five countries’ $6.5 trillion worth trade with the world.
On the bilateral front, the trade deficit in India-China bilateral trade has crossed over 50 billion US dollars in about 70 billion US dollars overall trade between the two countries.
Indian and Chinese officials are expected to be taking part in a host BRICS meetings ahead of September summit of the group scheduled to be held next month in China’s Xiamen city.
