India will push for an agreement on information technology and software with China during the third round of strategic and economic dialogue in Beijing even as it tries to protect its markets from a flood of Chinese goods. Asia’s two largest economies are also expected to hammer out an agreement to develop India’s railway infrastructure, which includes improving heavy haul operations, station development and speeding up trains. China has already submitted a five-year roadmap on trade and economy to the Indian government in which it has shown a strong interest in key infrastructure sectors such as telecom, roads and railways for investment. But the Indian government is wary of Chinese pressure in hardware and electronics, manufacturing sectors that India is keen to develop to reduce imports and boost jobs growth. India, on the other hand, wants to leverage its IT and software strength to expand into China. India is assessing whether it could give the Chinese a concession by putting in place an enabling policy on railways while pushing for IT access. Investment from China has contributed just $313 million, or 0.15%, of India’s total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows between April 2000 and December 2013. While India and China are targeting $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2015, the balance is heavily skewed in favor of the latter. At the end of fiscal 2012-13, China’s trade surplus with India was about $39 billion. Greater access to China’s services market can help narrow this deficit.

(Economic Times)