India Signs Trade Agreements With Malaysia, Japan

    India has signed free trade agreements with Japan and Malaysia(马来西亚). The pacts¹ are part of India's effort to deepen economic engagement with Asian countries.
    Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma signed the economic partnership² agreement with his Malaysian counterpart in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, two days after he concluded a similar deal in the Japanese capital, Tokyo.
    The pacts aim to reduce or eliminate tariffs³ on most goods over the next ten years. They will also widen investment opportunities between India and the two East Asian nations, and liberalize trade in the services sector⁴.
    Commerce Minister Sharma says the pacts will have a defining influence in the region and help in the larger economic integration⁵ of Asia.
    Over the past decade, India has sought to look beyond its traditional trading partners in Europe and the United States, and expand trade with East and South East Asia.
    S.K. Mohanty at the New Delhi-based economic think tank, Research and Information Systems, says Malaysia and Japan will not just provide new markets and opportunities for India. He says they will also be a source of cheap imports for India’s one billion plus population.
    "India’s domestic market is growing very fast, and domestic demand（国内需求） is a major contributor to our rising growth profile,” Mohanty said. “Therefore cheaper and qualitative⁶ imports from the region is also benefiting Indian economy. And at the same time we are also getting direct access to the region and are able to expand our volume of trade with the region."The agreement with Malaysia is expected to help double trade from $8 billion at present to about $15 billion by 2015. Trade with Japan, which stands at about $10 billion, will also get a boost.
    In 2009, India signed trade agreements with the ten-member Association of South East Asian Nations, or ASEAN. Economists⁷ say these pacts are helping⁸ India become better integrated with an economically vibrant⁹ region of 600 million people, where growth rates are higher than those in Western countries. They also come at a crucial time when Asia is emerging as an important center of global economic activity.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 pacts   

条约( pact的名词复数 )； 协定； 公约

参考例句：

• Vassals can no longer accept one-sided defensive pacts (!). 附庸国不会接受单方面的共同防御协定。
• Well, they are EU members now and have formed solidarity pacts with members such as Poland. 他们现在已经是欧盟的一部分了并且他们和欧盟成员诸如波兰等以签署了合作协议。

2 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

3 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

4 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

5 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

6 qualitative   

adj.性质上的，质的，定性的

参考例句：

• There are qualitative differences in the way children and adults think.孩子和成年人的思维方式有质的不同。
• Arms races have a quantitative and a qualitative aspects.军备竞赛具有数量和质量两个方面。

7 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。