Put pressure on India to promote free trade: Chinese media

TIL Desk/World/Beijing-China should put “more pressure” on India to promote free trade as calls to boycott Chinese goods have hurt the interests of many Chinese firms, official media here today said. China “may need to adjust its speed and rhythm” to avoid overheating its outbound investment to India, state-run Global Times said.

The “Opinion” piece in the daily came as China’s direct investment to India in 2016 reached $1.06 billion – six times the volume the year before – and India intensified efforts to make the country an attractive investment destination by easing rules and reforming its tax structures. India is ramping up efforts to boost domestic industries and cut reliance on imports under ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Also, the article warned the Chinese government about boycott calls in India for China-made products. There were calls on social media to boycott Chinese products following Beijing’s opposition to a proposal at the United Nations by India to ban JeM chief Masood Azhar. The calls were triggered after Beijing obstructed India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).