Traders burn Chinese goods on issue of JeM chief

Traders burnt Chinese goods across India on Tuesday after China blocked a bid in the UN Security Council to designate Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist", Confederation of All India Traders said.

CAIT also urged the government to put restrictions on trade with China. Traders "put to fire Chinese goods at more than 1,500 places all over the country, including Delhi," CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said. In the national capital, the traders' body protested against China by burning Chinese goods at Sadar Bazar.

The government should encourage small industries and give them a special package so that they can compete with Chinese goods, Khandelwal said. He said the body is launching a national campaign urging traders to boycott purchasing or selling Chinese goods.

The bilateral trade between India and China rose by 18.63 per cent year-on-year to USD 84.44 billion in 2017. The trade deficit with China continued to remain high at USD 51.75 billion during the year. The bilateral trade hit the historic high notwithstanding bilateral tensions over a host of issues, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Beijing blocking India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Doklam standoff.

For the fourth time, China blocked a bid in the United Nations (UN) Security Council to designate Azhar as a "global terrorist" by putting a technical hold on the proposal last Wednesday, a move India termed as disappointing.