Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal killed off speculation on Tuesday that his country may allow Chinese investments in the country in the near future.
Goyal said the new Modi government was not rethinking the issue, despite suggestions from some officials that the government should ease its restrictions.
Earlier this month, India’s Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said in the government’s annual economic survey that New Delhi should focus on direct investments from China to boost its exports and help keep India’s growing trade deficit with Beijing in check.
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“There is no rethinking at present to support Chinese investments in the country,” the minister told reporters in New Delhi.
The economic survey recommendations are not binding on the government, Goyal said.
India tightened scrutiny on investments from Chinese companies following clashes on the two nuclear-armed countries’ remote Himalayan border in mid-2020.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, however, had backed Nageswaran’s suggestion to allow more Chinese investment into the country.
The trade minister’s comments follow a report last week that said India may ease restrictions on Chinese investment in non-sensitive sectors like solar panels and battery manufacturing.
- Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
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