China prints Indian currency notes?

Though there has been face off between India and China over land boundary issue, South China sea row, dumping of Chinese goods into Indian market and other issues like flexing military muscles by both the economic giants of Asia; India has offered a contract to China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, the China state owned firm to print Indian currency, as per media report.

The South China Morning Post had reported that a Chinese state-owned company has been contracted to print large quantities of international currencies, including the Indian rupee.

But Centre had denied the reports. The Ministry of Finance, in a statement, said, "Reports about any Chinese currency printing corporation getting any orders for printing Indian currency notes are totally baseless."

Currency notes are printed at the Currency Note Press in Nashik, the Bank Note Press in Dewas, the Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran (P) Ltd at Salboni and Mysore and at the Watermark Paper Manufacturing Mill in Hoshangabad.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has expressed his shock and asked Union ministers, Arun Jaitley and Piyush Goyal, to clarify. Tharoor twitted as: "If true, this has disturbing national security implications. Not to mention making it easier for Pak to counterfeit".

The report states that in 2013, Beijing launched the belt and road plan which involved 60 countries from Asia, Europe and Africa to stimulate economic growth. Liu Guisheng, President of the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, was quoted as saying that his company has since then "successfully won contracts for currency production projects in a number of countries including India.

The report claims that despite domestic currency demand being at its lowest, the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation have been "functioning at full capacity to deliver on international contracts". It also states that while there was not much work until last year, there has been a sudden jump in production.

It said that most of the demand comes from participants in the 'Belt and Road Initiative' (BRI). The BRI focuses on improving connectivity and cooperation among Asian countries, Africa, China and Europe. China says over 60 countries have signed up for BRI investments. The BRI includes the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a project over which India has protested as it traverses through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).