The Indian ministers of home affairs, external affairs and commerce held a meeting to review trade with China on Monday, Home Ministry sources told Sputnik amid India's push to cut dependence on Chinese imports over border tensions
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th June, 2020) The Indian ministers of home affairs, external affairs and commerce held a meeting to review trade with China on Monday, Home Ministry sources told Sputnik amid India's push to cut dependence on Chinese imports over border tensions.
The meeting took place at the Home Ministry and lasted about two hours.
The talks come as India actively strives to reduce reliance on Chinese products. Last week, media reported that the country has drawn up a list of alternate trading partners for crucial imports. India is also reviewing free trade deals with countries that have similar agreements in place with China, accusing the latter of accessing the Indian market while bypassing duties.
Tensions between India and China flared up in May, when border stand-offs left dozens of soldiers injured on both sides. At high-level military talks on June 6, the two countries agreed to peacefully settle tensions.
In mid-June, they got involved in a deadly confrontation in the Galwan Valley in the border region of Ladakh. Twenty Indian servicemen were killed in the border clash, which also resulted in an unknown number of fatalities for China. The two countries are likely to hold a new round of corps commander talks in a fresh bid to settle the tensions on June 30, Indian Army sources told Sputnik.
