PM, Xi discuss trade gap, joint fight against terror

China should work with India to address trade-related issues, such as a large deficit and policy predictability, and to tackle challenges such as cross-border terrorism as the two sides rebuild their relationship, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said on Sunday.

- Rezaul H Laskar

Promotion of trade and investment amid challenges arising from the tariff policies of the US administration and countering terrorism figured in a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin. The two leaders met to take stock of ties following the end of a military standoff on the border last year.

The leaders discussed ways to increase and balance trade and the role the Indian and Chinese economies can play in stabilising world trade, Misri told a media briefing. They underlined the need to reduce the bilateral trade deficit, facilitate bilateral trade and investment ties in both directions, and “increase policy transparency and predictability”, he said.