India's top diplomat expressed reservations about joining the pending China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade agreement, saying it could only worsen the country's trade deficit with Beijing, according to various media reports.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Indian external affairs minister, warned that lower tariffs under the pan-Asian trade pact would lead to a surge of imports from China, widening the trade deficit between the two nations that stood at $53.6 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2019, The Straits Times and Bloomberg News reported.
Jaishankar said India remains concerned about China's "protectionist policies" and the "unfair" market access it has given to New Delhi, which he claimed have resulted in the bilateral trade deficit.
Jaishankar made the comments during a panel discussion in Singapore and following the latest round of negotiations on the RCEP trade deal held in Thailand.
In August, a nationalist group tied to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government is unlikely to sign the RCEP trade deal due to opposition from various sectors, including the country's farmers, Reuters reported.
The RCEP trade pact includes 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, as well as China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
ASEAN countries aim to conclude negotiations by December, according to Reuters.
