New Delhi: Just a day after India withdrew the visa issued to Uyghur dissident Dolkun Isa after China claimed that he was a "terrorist", New Delhi has banned import of milk and milk products, certain mobile phones and a few other items from its northern neighbour after finding them sub-standard or for not following security codes.
Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Lok Sabha that India had banned import of milk and milk products from China as their quality was unacceptable.
The minister told the Lok Sabha that some mobile phones, which do not carry International Mobile Station Equipment Identity number or other security features, and some steel products have also been banned from importing from China.
"Complete ban of import from any country is not possible now due to WTO rules even if we have problems diplomatically, territorially or militarily," she said.
She said India's trade deficit with China stood at $48.68 billion during 2015-16 (April-February) and the total bilateral trade was $65.16 billion during the period.
"Increasing trade deficit with China can be attributed primarily to the fact that Chinese exports to India rely strongly on manufactured items to meet the demand of fast expanding sectors like telecom and power, while India's exports to China are characterised by primarily and intermediate products," she said.
The ban comes after India first issued and then withdrew visa to Isa.
The Uyghur leader had been given a tourist visa to attend a conference organised by a US-based organisation in Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile, in Himachal Pradesh. The conference from April 28 to May 1 will discuss democratic transformation in China.
Soon after Isa was granted visa by India, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said he is a terrorist and must be brought to justice. China does not recognise the Tibetan government-in-exile and has been very critical of India's stand on Dalai Lama.
Xinjiang, which has over 10 million Uyghur population of Turkik origin Muslims, was on the boil for several years over Uyghur protests against the large-scale settlements of Hans from different part of the country.
China blames East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a militant Islamist group, for terrorist attacks in Xinjiang and other parts of the country.
(With Inputs From PTI)
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