Indian PM's visit a milestone in ties

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to China is a "milestone" in bilateral relations that will strengthen the two neighbors' strategic partnership and promote their cooperation in the global arena, India's ambassador to China said.

"Prime Minister Singh brings with him the sincere friendship and warmth of the people and government of India to the people and government of China," Ambassador Nirupama Rao told China Daily.

"We regard his visit to China as a very significant milestone in India-China relations. It would strengthen our strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity, and raise our relations to a new level," she said.

According to Rao, Singh will hold discussions with Chinese leaders not only on bilateral issues but also on issues of regional and global significance.

"We are both ancient civilizations and repositories of knowledge and wisdom. Our cooperation and dialogue have great relevance and meaning to the future of our two countries, especially for our comprehensive and peaceful economic development, and indeed of the region and the world," noted the ambassador.

She said China-India relations have increasingly acquired a "global perspective" as the two countries share common or similar positions on a wide range of international issues. For example, the two countries cooperated well at the Bali Conference on climate change last month.

The ambassador believes the development of China and India is more about opportunities than conflicts of interest. As Indian Prime Minister Singh has said on many occasions, there is enough room for the rise of both nations.

"India and China are home to around two-fifths of the world population. It devolves on us to raise the living standards of our people through growth and development," said Rao.

"We are two large developing countries with a commonality of views on most international and regional issues, and we must continue to work together for the evolution of a more equitable and democratic international political and economic order."

Flourishing economic links

India and China, two of the world's fastest growing economies, have great complementarities in business cooperation, the ambassador said.

"Complementarity is obvious in the export of service products from India to China and of manufactured goods from China to India. But that is not the complete picture," she pointed out.

"Look deeper and you will find many areas where India has a comparative advantage."

She named a variety of sectors where the two neighbors have great room for cooperation, such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare, automobiles and auto components, tires, machinery and equipment, including those for the sugar and textile industry, boilers, diesel engines, electric meters and electric motors.

In the primary and processed food industry, edible fruits, oilseeds, marine products, processed fruits, processed dairy products, vegetables and leather are important items of bilateral trade, according to Rao.

"Even in sectors where we compete, we can convert competition into new opportunities for cooperation through intra-industrial trade in niche areas," she said.

Bilateral trade between China and India exceeded US$37 billion in 2007. China is the biggest source of Indian imports and is poised to become India's biggest trade partner shortly. On the other hand, the volume of trade growth with India is one of the highest among China's trade partners.

Although bilateral investment, which stands at below $300 million at present, lags behind the pace of trade volume increase, Rao is confident investment will take off and add to the complementarities between the two nations.

"Indian multinational companies have proved their ability in foreign acquisitions. It is a matter of time before they start investing in China," she said.

India's large market potential will similarly attract Chinese investments in India's steel, consumer electronic and power sectors, Rao added.

While Chinese investment in India is not very high, India has already become the largest destination for Chinese project contracting.

Chinese companies are very active in India in project contracting in the infrastructure sector. The total contract value of projects by Chinese companies in India has reached $12 billion, according to Rao.

Cultural bonds

What links India and China is not only material benefits but also the two countries' glorious cultural heritage, appreciated by people on either side.

"Both our countries are ancient civilizations with rich cultural heritages and have a lot to offer to each other," said Rao. "I see no reason why our two peoples should not have greater opportunity to appreciate each others' art, drama, movies and cultural performances."

With the high technologies available today, language is no longer a barrier to communication, she said.

"The young people of China I meet have a natural empathy for the music and dance of Bollywood movies," she said. "In my daily life in Beijing, I have seen that Indians and Chinese communicate very well with each other."

For the two continent-sized civilizations with similar historical experiences and demographic profile, there is a wide range of issues that call for common efforts, such as environmental protection, education, health and energy security, Rao noted.

"Even on the subject of preserving our ancient culture and heritage we face similar challenges," she said.

(China Daily 01/14/2008 page13)