China said on Monday it had agreed with India to reduce tariffs on the imports of Indian medicines. Indian medicines, especially anti-cancer drugs, are in great demand in China as they are much cheaper than Western alternatives, according to the Hindustan Times.
“We believe the expansion of imports and slashing of tariffs on anti-cancer medicines will usher in great opportunities for India and other countries in the region,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said. “There is a [recent] popular movie Dying to Survive about zero tariff imposition on anti-cancer medicines in China.”
“We have decided to expand our imports as well as opening up,” Hua said. “This is what China needs in order to uphold free trade and work against protectionism. It is also in keeping up with our own pace of development and opening up.”
China and the United States have been engaged in a tariff war in recent months after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs worth billions of dollars on Chinese products.
Beijing earlier announced a cut in import duties on over 8,500 Indian items. It said it will relax taxes on more Indian goods, IANS reported.
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