Bilateral trade between India and China is likely to shoot up from the current US$ 25 billion to US$ 40 billion by 2009, according to trade representatives from the two countries.

Bilateral trade reached US$ 8.2 billion during the first quarter of the current year, soaring by 58%, said Wang Jinzhen, Vice President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

He added that the business communities in both China and India were determined to raise bilateral trade to US$ 40 billion by 2010, but he was hopeful of crossing that target a year ahead of schedule. The two countries set a target of US$ 40 billion by 2010 during Chinese President Hu Jintao’s recent visit to India.

Member of Parliament and Managing Director of Videocon Industries Ltd, Rajkumar Dhoot, said India-China bilateral trade could more than double to US$ 43 billion in the next three years. Dhoot, who is heading an ASSOCHAM delegation to China, said the growth in Chinese exports to India was among the fastest. However, the volume of Chinese investments in India remains low.

May 18, 2007