India Inc today joined the government in criticising China for Beijing's "strident" statements against New Delhi and expressed concerns that if relations get strained the bilateral economic ties could be affected adversely.
"FICCI notices that strident statements have been issued increasingly by China lately and as a result if the overall atmosphere of India-China relations is queered, then business and economic relations can’t but get affected," president of apex business chamber Harsh Pati Singhania said.
The latest is the Chinese Foreign ministry spokesperson’s observations on the visit of prime minister Manmohan Singh to Arunachal Pradesh, he said.
Bilateral trade between India and China increased to USD38 bn in 2007-08 from USD7 bn in 2003-04.
More recent numbers indicate that India-China trade is inching close to USD45-bn mark, making China India’s largest trading partner.
"Their economies are emerging as two of the largest in the world. Their stance on economic issues can have global implication as it has been demonstrated in course of successive G20 meetings," he said.
India has reacted strongly to China taking objection to prime minister's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims is a disputed territory. However, New Delhi has rebuffed these claims stating Arunachal is an integral part of India
