China must open bids to Indian firms: Sharma

India and China need to address the issue of the growing trade imbalance in favour of China, and to this end, China should allow Indian companies to bid for its government orders, commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said after meeting his Chinese counterpart Chen Deming at a joint function in New Delhi today.

Chen on his part said that Indian companies should be proactive in exporting to markets in China, adding that the trade imbalance with India can be addressed through better investment ties between the two countries. He didn't elaborate.

At the ninth session of the India-China Joint Group on Economic Relations, Trade, Science and Technology led by Chen and Sharma, the two sides also agreed to work on a five-year plan for furthering economic co-operation.

"The joint working group will be established soon and it will give its recommendations and assessments in 90 days. We have also agreed to work on a five-year plan on economic co-operation. These have been proposed by Deming and we have welcomed and endorsed it," Sharma told reporters after the meeting.

India's current account deficit rose to an all-time high at 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product in the quarter ended March this year.

India's trade deficit with China jumped 42 per cent to nearly $40 billion in the last fiscal year ended 31 March, and was the largest contributor to the country's overall foreign trade imbalance. Total bilateral trade rose 27 per cent to $75 billion in the last fiscal year.