India working to develop relations with China once again: Piyush Goyal
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. File Picture
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Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said India is working to rebuild its relations with China, while adding the two nations had some concerns in the past, according to news agency PTI.
“We are open to all countries around the world as long as we get a fair deal, as long as we ensure a continuity in the engagement, and as long as the geopolitical situation does not deteriorate. I think we had some concerns in the past. We are working to develop relations with China once again, but the last word has not yet been scripted on this journey,” he said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2026.
India and China trade
China is India’s second-largest trading partner and the bilateral trade between the two nations increased 7.9 per cent in 2025-26 to USD 127.7 billion from USD 118.39 billion in 2024-25.
India’s exports to China surged 36.62 per cent to USD 19.47 billion in 2025-26 from USD 14.25 billion a year ago. Imports from China increased 16 per cent to USD 131.62 billion during the period.
However, the trade deficit widened to USD 99.19 billion in the last fiscal from USD 85 billion in 2024-25, which is an area of concern for the country.
Besides, India has tightened its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy for countries sharing land borders with it, which includes China.
India-US relations remain good
Goyal further said India-US relations are “very good” and will only improve irrespective of changes in political thinking.
“Of course, it is already very good. I don’t see any problem as we speak also. And to my mind, the relationship with the US that India enjoys is very substantive, very consequential for the world, being two large democracies,” he said.
The minister was responding to a question on whether India-US relations would improve after US president Donald Trump leaves office.
“One must bear in mind that we have, it’s not only about trade, which of course they are our largest trading partner and I think will continue to be in the years to come. And by and large, I don’t see any problem in any agreements also with the United States,” Goyal said.
“It’s about trade, it’s about defence partnership, it’s our technology partnership, it’s our critical minerals partnership, it’s our people-to-people engagement,” he added.
He further said the two countries continue to have a “very” close relationship and both sides continue to engage in areas such as defence exercises, ensuring open supply chains for technology, goods, and services.
“The US and India have a very, very consequential relationship and it’s only going to get better irrespective of changes in political thinking, whether in India or in the US. The relationship draws its strength from our economic imperatives, from our political imperatives, from our security imperatives,” he said.
“So it’s a very safe relationship. I don’t think the rest of the world needs to worry about it,” he added.
FM had said India-US deal seems to reached a plateau
Goyal’s comments come amid India and US negotiating a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and uncertainty around the deal.
India is seeking better tariffs for its goods in the US market. Earlier this month, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said that the both countries were working to finalise a bilateral trade deal, but an agreement was not imminent.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier this month had said negotiations for the India-US trade agreement are still underway, but both sides appeared to have reached a “plateau”, with limited room for further concessions.
India’s exports to US grew marginally by 0.92 per cent to USD 87.3 billion during the last fiscal year despite high tariffs, while imports increased 15.95 per cent to USD 52.9 billion.
The trade surplus declined to USD 34.4 billion in 2025-26 from USD 40.89 billion in 2024-25
India in talks with Singapore to strengthen semiconductor industry
Speaking at the Forum, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said Singapore and India are in talks to strengthen the semi-conductor industry in India.
“We are also working on training and skilling of the Indian workforce so that we can support the growth of semiconductors,” he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
Source: www.mid-day.com