India's Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said that India and China have agreed to set up industry specific working groups to bridge trade deficit with Beijing. “Concerned about growing trade deficit with China, we agreed to set up industry specific working groups, to promote more exports from India,” he tweeted. The minister who was in Manila to attend the fifth East Asia Summit (EAS) Economic Minister's Meeting, is also expected to participate in the trade ministers' meeting of 16 RCEP member countries.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega trade pact among 16 countries which aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights. Prabhu met with his Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan to discuss ways to promote bilateral trade between the countries. He also met Japanese Minister of economy, trade, and industry Hiroshige Seko and Korean Trade Minister Hyun Chong KIM.
