New Delhi: As India plans to invest over one trillion dollars on infrastructure projects in the next five years, Chinese companies are gearing up to participate in the process.
Mr Wang Xuefeng, Minister at the Embassy of China in India, said the country has several competitive advantages in manufacturing and infrastructure construction. “The Indian government’s plan to invest one trillion dollars on infrastructure projects offers excellent opportunity for Chinese companies to participate.”
He was addressing delegates at a roundtable conference titled ‘India China Economic Cooperation: Win Win Situation’ organised by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
“In the past three years, Chinese enterprises have completed India infrastructural projects with a total value of ten billion dollars. The two-way investment is also showing a booming trend. China’s ever-growing market also means huge space for Indian companies.”
Mr Wang brushed aside fears of hike in tariff and non-tariff barriers on imports of some Chinese goods by India or a complete ban on specific items like power and telecom equipment. China has already raced past the United States, Britain and Japan to become India’s largest trading partner.
Trade between the world’s most populous nations with 2.5 billion people jumped 20-fold from 2.9 billion dollars in 2000 to more than 60 billion dollars in 2010. It is likely to cross 70 billion dollars this year and reach 100 billion dollars in the next four years.
Dr Subramaniam Swamy, president of the Janata Party who did doctoral research on the Chinese economy at Harvard University, said India and China should identify complementarities in manufacturing, services, innovation, research and development, banking and finance, energy, and environment.
For instance, he said, hydrogen fuel cells have a great future and can reduce dependence on hydrocarbons. “We must create an atmosphere of negotiated settlements as stable economic cooperation requires complete and clear political understanding.”
After the United States, China is the world’s second largest economy with a GDP of 5.6 trillion dollars in 2010 and growing at ten per cent in the past five years. India is the fourth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity and expected to become the third largest by 2040.
Indian exports to China jumped 68.8 per cent to 19.6 billion dollars in 2010-11 from 11.6 billion dollars in the previous year. The imports also increased 41 per cent to 43.5 billion dollars from 30.8 billion dollars in the same period.
Most Indian exports to China comprise of metals, ores, iron and steel besides cotton while imports are of electrical machinery and equipment, nuclear reactors and boilers, organic chemicals, fertilisers, iron and steel.
Source: orissadiary.com