Aamir Khan as Brand India ambassador to China: Commerce ministry mulls move amid superstar's rising popularity

Aamir Khan’s massive popularity in China has prompted the government to make the most of it by naming the Dangal star the ambassador to China. According to a report in livemint.com, India is considering appointing Aamir Khan as its brand ambassador to showcase its services sectors in China. The idea is to boost services exports and narrow India’s trade deficit with China. According to the numbers provided by livemint.com, India has a $51 billion merchandise trade deficit and about $270 million services trade deficit with China. The Indian government has termed these deficits as “unsustainable”. Recently, Chinese trade minister Zhong Shan agreed to draw up a medium and long-term road map to address the massive trade deficit between the two countries. [caption id=“attachment_4414697” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Aamir Khan/Image from Twitter.[/caption] Livemint.com quoted a Commerce Ministry official saying, “Aamir Khan has won the hearts of millions of common Chinese citizens. He can create tremendous goodwill for India in China. He can be our brand ambassador to China and present our prowess in services sectors.” The official also said that the Commerce Ministry has made the proposal to the Ministry of External Affairs. Aamir Khan’s movies have been immensely successful in China with Khan becoming one of the most popular movie stars in neighboring country. Four of Aamir Khan’s movies have been released in China; 3 Idiots, PK, Dangal, and Secret Superstar. Recently, Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan also got a theatrical release in China. Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiot’s made  Rs 16 crore at the Chinese box-office, whereas PK minted Rs 123 crore, Dangal Rs 1,200 crore, and Secret Superstar Rs 800 crore. Earlier, Aamir Khan was the brand ambassador of the Incredible India campaign but was discontinued after his contract ended . Khan was part of the popular Atithi Devo Bhava campaign. Many connected Aamir Khan’s exit from the Incredible India campaign a result of the star’s comments regarding the perceived intolerance in the country. “Our contract was with the McCann Worldwide agency for Atithi Devo Bhava campaign. The agency had hired Aamir for the job. Now the contract with the agency is over. Ministry has not hired Aamir. It was the agency which has hired him. Since the contract with the agency is no more, automatically the arrangement with the actor no longer exists,” former Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma had said.