NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated on Tuesday that India is not “closed to business from China”, but the issue lies in determining which sectors the country will engage with Beijing and on what terms.
Relations between the two nuclear-armed Asian giants have been at odds ever since the deadly Galwan clash in 2020.
India subsequently tightened its scrutiny of investments from Chinese companies and halted major projects.
Government officials including FM Nirmala Sitharaman, however, have recently supported suggestions to allow more Chinese investment in the country.
According to a latest annual economic survey released in July, India can either integrate into China’s supply chain or promote foreign direct investment (FDI) from China to boost its global exports.
“We are not closed to business from China … I think the issue is, which sectors do you do business and what terms do you do business? It’s far more complicated than a black and white binary answer,” Jaishankar said during a conference in Berlin.
According to news agency Reuters, India could relax restrictions on Chinese investment in non-sensitive sectors such as solar panels and battery manufacturing where it lacks expertise and which hinders domestic manufacturing.
India has also virtually blocked visas for all Chinese nationals since 2020, along with investments scrutiny, but is considering easing them for Chinese technicians, as it had obstructed investments worth billion dollars.
Relations between the two nuclear-armed Asian giants have been at odds ever since the deadly Galwan clash in 2020.
India subsequently tightened its scrutiny of investments from Chinese companies and halted major projects.
Government officials including FM Nirmala Sitharaman, however, have recently supported suggestions to allow more Chinese investment in the country.
According to a latest annual economic survey released in July, India can either integrate into China’s supply chain or promote foreign direct investment (FDI) from China to boost its global exports.
“We are not closed to business from China … I think the issue is, which sectors do you do business and what terms do you do business? It’s far more complicated than a black and white binary answer,” Jaishankar said during a conference in Berlin.
According to news agency Reuters, India could relax restrictions on Chinese investment in non-sensitive sectors such as solar panels and battery manufacturing where it lacks expertise and which hinders domestic manufacturing.
India has also virtually blocked visas for all Chinese nationals since 2020, along with investments scrutiny, but is considering easing them for Chinese technicians, as it had obstructed investments worth billion dollars.