Praful warns against Chinese aggression

Ahead of Chinese premier Li Keqiang’s proposed visit to India in the last week of this month, heavy industries minister Praful Patel has warned against Chinese power companies edging out their Indian counterparts in the country.

Another Chinese ‘aggression’ is bothering some quarters of the government now.

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Ahead of Chinese premier Li Keqiang’s proposed visit to India in the last week of this month, heavy industries minister Praful Patel has warned against Chinese power companies edging out their Indian counterparts in the country. Patel has already taken up his concern with PM Manmohan Singh, finance minister and the governor of Reserve Bank of India.

“Due to the non-availability of a level-playing filed, the Indian power generating equipment manufacturing industry has been severely dented by foreign competition, especially by China,” the minister said in a letter to D Subbarao, RBI governor.

He has asked the RBI to help the domestic industries get finance on the same rates as Chinese Exports credit or stop allowing Indian companies take External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) for power plants in China. ECB from China allows Indian companies to place orders with Chinese manufacturers and get their products, depriving Indian PSUs like BHEL.

Despite differences in areas like border, India and china have been keen on building on their growing trade ties. Pegged at $80bn now, the two-way trade is set to meet the target of $100 bn by 2015. Power sector is one of the key areas of cooperation.