The World Trade Organisation's (WTO) acceptance of China's membership bid is expected to open up China's vast market to Indian businesses in areas like agriculture, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, banking and insurance, official sources in Beijing said. Under the India-China bilateral agreement on Beijing's accession to the WTO, signed here on February 22, last year, China has promised to open up its markets to Indian products and services once the Communist giant becomes a full-fledged member of the Geneva-based multilateral trade body.
As part of the agreement, China has promised that the tariff rate quotas that will be established for agricultural products, such as for rice, will be global quotas and will not be allocated selectively among different supplying countries. The tariff rate quotas will be administered in a manner that will provide an opportunity for Indian exporters to supply the products on terms and conditions, which are transparent and non-discriminatory, The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two sides says concerning agriculture products.
Further, China has agreed to fully take into account the concerns of India before finalising the tariff rate quota system for agricultural products.
China's imports of agricultural products like rice, wheat, cotton, corn, marine products, fruits and vegetables are expected to rise substantially after the WTO accession. At the same time, unless Indian agricultural products exporters improve their efficiency, they are unlikely to succeed in the Chinese market which is dominated by producers from countries like the US, Canada, Argentina and Thailand, an official source said.
Bureau Report