We are working to develop relations with China once again: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said India is working to rebuild its relations with China while adding the two nations had some concerns in the past according to news agency PTIWe are open to all countries around the world as long as we get a fair deal as long as we ensure a continuity in the engagement and as long as the geopolitical situation does not deteriorate I think we had some concerns in the past We are working to develop relations with China once again but the last word has not yet been scripted on this journey he said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2026India and China tradeChina is Indias secondlargest trading partner and the bilateral trade between the two nations increased 79 per cent in 202526 to USD 1277 billion from USD 11839 billion in 202425Indias exports to China surged 3662 per cent to USD 1947 billion in 202526 from USD 1425 billion a year ago Imports from China increased 16 per cent to USD 13162 billion during the periodHowever the trade deficit widened to USD 9919 billion in the last fiscal from USD 85 billion in 202425 which is an area of concern for the countryBesides India has tightened its Foreign Direct Investment FDI policy for countries sharing land borders with it which includes ChinaIndiaUS relations remain goodGoyal further said IndiaUS relations are very good and will only improve irrespective of changes in political thinkingOf course it is already very good I dont see any problem as we speak also And to my mind the relationship with the US that India enjoys is very substantive very consequential for the world being two large democracies he saidThe minister was responding to a question on whether IndiaUS relations would improve after US president Donald Trump leaves officeOne must bear in mind that we have its not only about trade which of course they are our largest trading partner and I think will continue to be in the years to come And by and large I dont see any problem in any agreements also with the United States Goyal saidIts about trade its about defence partnership its our technology partnership its our critical minerals partnership its our peopletopeople engagement he addedHe further said the two countries continue to have a very close relationship and both sides continue to engage in areas such as defence exercises ensuring open supply chains for technology goods and servicesThe US and India have a very very consequential relationship and its only going to get better irrespective of changes in political thinking whether in India or in the US The relationship draws its strength from our economic imperatives from our political imperatives from our security imperatives he saidSo its a very safe relationship I dont think the rest of the world needs to worry about it he addedFM had said IndiaUS deal seems to reached a plateauGoyals comments come amid India and US negotiating a Bilateral Trade Agreement BTA and uncertainty around the dealIndia is seeking better tariffs for its goods in the US market Earlier this month US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said that the both countries were working to finalise a bilateral trade deal but an agreement was not imminentFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier this month had said negotiations for the IndiaUS trade agreement are still underway but both sides appeared to have reached a plateau with limited room for further concessionsIndias exports to US grew marginally by 092 per cent to USD 873 billion during the last fiscal year despite high tariffs while imports increased 1595 per cent to USD 529 billionThe trade surplus declined to USD 344 billion in 202526 from USD 4089 billion in 202425India in talks with Singapore to strengthen semiconductor industrySpeaking at the Forum Singapores Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said Singapore and India are in talks to strengthen the semiconductor industry in IndiaWe are also working on training and skilling of the Indian workforce so that we can support the growth of semiconductors he addedWith inputs from PTI