KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE PRIME MINISTER AT THE SEMINAR ON "CHINA-INDIA
ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT"
The Prime Minister,
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee underlined the importance of increased
economic cooperation with China and also noted the rapidly growing
bilateral trade and investments between the two countries, while
delivering the keynote address at the seminar on China-India economic
cooperation and development at Beijing today. Speaking on the
occasion, the Prime Minister emphasised the need to bridge the
information gap between the business communities of the two countries,
as well as the need for greater exposure about opportunities available
in both the countries. Shri Vajpayee also impressed the need to
look within our countries for solutions to the economic needs,
before turning to the developed countries.
The following is
the text of the Prime Minister’s keynote address:
"It is a
great pleasure for me to be here today, among the premier business
representatives of one of the most dynamic economies in the world
today. On this visit, I have been in Beijing now for just over
a day. But wherever I have been in this city, I saw the pace of
economic change and could sense the urgency of the modernisation
drive. It has truly been an eye-opener.
I must note that
the Indian business delegation accompanying me on this visit is
among the largest that has traveled with me on my official visits
abroad. This says something about the potential which Indian trade
and industry circles see in economic cooperation with China.
I have had the
privilege to witness three distinct phases of economic change
in this country. I first came here in 1979, just after the "Four
Modernisations" were adopted. I came again in 1993, when
senior leader Deng Xiaoping had just launched the second phase
of your economic reforms. Now in 2003, we see the country’s ambitious
plan to quadruple its GDP by 2020. Judging by your past performance,
I have no reason to doubt that you will also achieve this extraordinary
target. China is today the world’s fastest growing economy and
is second largest in purchasing power parity. Your achievements
in the economic transformation of your country are truly remarkable
and I congratulate the Chinese government and people for them.
While our expansion
and growth rates have lagged behind China, the Indian economy
has also made impressive strides in the last decade or so. In
the last 12 years, we have recorded an average annual growth of
nearly 6 per cent. India is the world’s fourth largest economy
on purchasing power parity. Our trade with the world has also
recorded a steady annual growth of over 8 per cent in the past
decade. We can now say with some certainly that Indian private
business and industry has come of age in a rapidly globalizing
world. Indian companies are now acquiring brand recognition abroad
in cutting edge areas like Information Technology, biotechnology
and pharmaceuticals. The Forbes 200 ranking last year of the world’s
best small companies included as many as 13 Indian companies.
The twin objectives
of my visit to China at this stage were - to establish close relations
with the new leadership of your country, and to impart a fresh
momentum to the comprehensive cooperation, which India and China
are in the process of building.
I must say with
great satisfaction that my meetings with the leadership of China
have been excellent. They have confirmed that the desire to build
stable, enduring and forward-looking ties of friendship is shared
by the highest political levels in both countries.
Some of the results
in economic cooperation have already been quite encouraging. Our
bilateral trade has been growing rapidly. Though it is from a
relatively narrow base, the recent annual growth rate of 30 per
cent in our bilateral trade is quite significant. In the first
four months of this year, bilateral trade registered an astonishing
growth of about 70 per cent. China now accounts for about 4 per
cent of India’s foreign trade and this proportion is rising. At
this rate, the bilateral trade target of 10 billion dollars –
which had been mentioned during the Chinese Premier’s visit to
India last year – is likely to be attained soon.
Equally importantly,
bilateral investments have started picking up. There are about
15 Chinese companies in India and 71 projects set up by Indian
firms in China. Although the net investment figures are not as
yet very large, the symbolism of two of the largest developing
countries investing in each other’s economies is important.
Speaking at the
Peking University yesterday, I had drawn attention to the many
commonalties between India and China, which have created potentially
rewarding synergies. Both have large populations, growing economies,
and a majority of our people dependent on agriculture. Shared
economic, social and ecological problems create opportunities
for closer cooperation.
There was a period
in the India-China relationship when our preoccupation with our
differences prevented a pragmatic understanding of the mutual
benefits from cooperation. Our present course of developing all-round
bilateral cooperation, while simultaneously addressing our differences,
has transformed the quality of our relationship. This has helped
to further narrow our differences and to accelerate our cooperation.
Of course we have
much further to go to realize the full potential of our partnership.
We have, first and foremost, to bridge the information gap between
the business communities of our two countries. There has to be
far greater exposure in each country of the opportunities available
in the other. This would help to diversify our trade basket. It
would also ensure that we first look within our countries for
solutions to our economic needs, before we turn to the developed
countries.
Our two governments
have decided to make a concerted effort to move our economic cooperation
to greater heights. Premier Wen Jiabao and I decided yesterday
that we would form a Joint Study Group of economists and officials
from our two countries to review existing cooperation, to identify
new areas of promise and to draw up a comprehensive perspective
plan for the further development of a multi-faceted economic interaction.
This is an initiative, which will require meaningful inputs also
from business and industry of India and China.
For a rapid expansion
of our economic interactions, it is very important to strengthen
passenger and cargo transportation links, banking support structures
and trade facilitation measures. While governments on both sides
can work to address these infrastructural problems, it is for
private business and industry to optimize their utilization.
This is a business
seminar and innovative ideas for progressing the India-China economic
partnership in various areas should really emerge from your deliberations.
I cannot lay down either policy prescriptions or action agendas
for this endeavor. I would only like to affirm to you that the
leadership of our two countries believes in the huge potential
for our economic and commercial cooperation. We are committed
to create conditions, which would facilitate the rapid growth
of this cooperation. This provides a strong political underpinning
to your endeavours. I hope you can build on it constructively
and creatively."
