New Delhi, Oct 7 (KNN) Stressing upon the need to explore the vast business opportunities between India and China, Dr. Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, said the government will play the role of the facilitator but industries on both sides will have to be the key drivers of the growth process.

Dr. Panagariya said that India and China represent two bright spots in an otherwise sluggish global economy.

“As large developing countries and major emerging economies, both India and China are uniquely poised to lead the global effort towards the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals and contribute to the improvement in the lives of 2.6 billion of their people,” he said.

He said that India’s trade and investment ties with China have expanded significantly in recent years.

Today, China is India’s leading trading partner with a bilateral trade in goods of about US$ 71 billion last year, although there is a need to find sustainable ways to correct the rather large imbalance in the bilateral trade flows. Mutual investments are providing the added dynamism to bilateral interaction among business communities from both sides. He exhorted the businesses of the two countries to tap the vast opportunities that have emerged with the recent developments.

Dr Panagariya said this while welcoming business representatives of China and India at the India China Investment Conclave, organized by FICCI in collaboration with NITI Aayog and National Development and Reforms Commission of China (NDRC) on the sidelines of the India China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED).

The NITI Aayog Vice Chairman also noted that in the past 15 years, China has jumped from a two trillion dollar economy to a ten trillion dollar plus economy. In the coming 15 years, India, which today stands at approximately two trillion dollars, must strive to achieve this level of growth. 

In his special address, Xu Shaoshi, Chairman, National Development and Reform Commission, (NDRC) PRC, and the leader of the delegation, said that there was a need to promote regional cooperation and mutual connectivity to strengthen the investment relations between India and China.

In this respect, at the fourth India China Strategic Economic Dialogue around 16 agreements of cooperation would be exchanged between industry players representing India and China respectively, he added.

He said that for providing a holistic view on investment opportunities in India, 11 Indian states will be presenting their sectors which are open for investment to the Chinese industry. States such as Odisha, Gujarat, West Bengal, Telengana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, will introduce their industrial and regulatory policies to the Chinese delegation and share the immense investment possibilities in their region. As China offers a hugely successful model of development of Coastal Economic Zones, the knowledge sharing at the sidelines of the meeting will be helpful.

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, said that there is a need to pursue the strategy of investment of China and ‘Make in India’.

Highlighting areas of cooperation, Kant said that China was a manufacturing powerhouse of the world and India was the IT and services hub; hence the two should be leveraged to accelerate the pace of bilateral trade and investment between India and China.

Kant said that India needs to grow its manufacturing and infrastructure sectors rapidly and China had expertise in both the areas. These areas could be explored for cooperation and India can learn from China in many others spheres. He added that there was a need for deeper economic engagement and developing regional cooperation.

Dr. Jyotsna Suri, Immediate Past President, FICCI, said that investment is the key to rebalance bilateral trade, and therefore, FICCI would like to propose a partnership with NDRC to set up a Task Force to identify potential projects in Indian states for Chinese companies and the possibilities of Indian companies to invest in Chinese Provinces.

She said FICCI also proposes a Joint China-India SMEs GVC Initiative in collaboration with NITI Aayog, FICCI and NDRC. Further, to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of China, India and neighboring Asian countries, and NITI Aayog’s VISION 2022, FICCI proposes to set up a Forum to identify and facilitate bankable projects in energy, infrastructure and other sectors.