Piyush Goyal expressed hope that India would become a major exporter to China and ASEAN countries.
India aims to promote free and fair trade while addressing unfair pricing through established legal processes.
India-China bilateral trade rose 7.9% to $127.7 billion in 2025-26, widening the trade deficit.Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has expressed hope that India would emerge as a major exporter of goods and services to China and the ASEAN region in the coming years.
Goyal said he held meetings with his Chinese counterpart in Yaounde, Cameroon, and in New Delhi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
He added that India was open to promoting free and fair trade with every country.
"They (China) are also providing us important intermediate goods, important raw materials. If in any particular product, we find that the fair play or pricing is not proper, then there's an established judicial process, which is conducted. Other than that, we believe in the rules of fair play; we believe in the rules of open trade ...we welcome suppliers to meet the growing needs of India," Goyal told reporters here.
He was replying to a question on India-China trade relations in the coming years. The minister was here on a two-day official visit.
"We are looking to open markets in different countries on a reciprocal basis for our goods and services. And I do hope that in the years to come, we will see India becoming a major exporter of goods and services to China and the ASEAN region also," he said.
The members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The remarks came nearly two weeks after the minister on October 14 stated that India is working to rebuild its relations with China, but the last word on this journey has not yet been scripted.
In the last few months, the two sides have taken a series of measures to rebuild their ties after they came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.
