New Delhi: Barely days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his trip to Wuhan for an informal meeting with President Xi Jinping, China on Thursday announced that it had exempted import tariffs on 28 drugs, including all cancer drugs. The exemption came into place on May 1st, announced Luo Zhaohui, Chinese ambassador to India.
"China has exempted import tariffs for 28 drugs, including all cancer drugs, from May 1st. Good news for India's pharmaceutical industry and medicine export to China. I believe this will help reduce trade imbalance between #China and #india in the future," he announced on Twitter.
The tweet came a day after he said that it was the first busy working day since Modi and Xi met in Wuhan. He further said that there was lot of work to do to implement the two leaders’ consensus.
"#China will further improve business environment by halving time required to open a business, State Council decided at an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on May 2nd. #China’s door to the outside world will open wider. #Indian businesses are welcome!" Zhaohui tweeted.
The move holds prominence as it comes just days after Modi met Xi, with no agenda. Both countries said that no agreements would be signed but a wide range of issues will be discussed. Alka Acharya, former member of the National Security Advisory Board, said that the move was definitely the first of many. "It sends out a strong signal to the outside world too that businesses can be conducted smoothly. Working out economics of trade is one of the strongest steps that can be taken to strengthen ties," she told News18.
China has previously said that its doors were open for the United States of America, but if there is a trade war it will "fight till the end". China imposed tariffs on 128 US imports worth USD 3 billion, including meat, fruit and pork, as retaliation against taxes approved by US President Donald Trump on imported steel and aluminum.
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