“We will facilitate your efforts to make your investments in India profitable. We must take advantage of the opportunities that abound in the growth of both our economies,” said President Pranab Mukherjee, addressing a meeting of the India-China Business Forum here on the second day of his four-day visit to the country.
The President told the forum, attended by industrialists and businessmen of both sides, that India would like to see greater market for its products in China in a bid to balance bilateral trade which is in China’s favour. This, he said, would particularly be needed in sectors, where the two countries have natural complementaries as in drugs and pharmaceuticals and IT and IT-related services and agro products.
“It is a matter of satisfaction that there is an emerging focus on two-way investment flows,” he said. The President noted that the bilateral trade between India and China has grown steadily since the turn of this century from $2.91 billion in 2000 to $71 billion last year.
Guangdon province boasts of a $1 trillion economy with high manufacturing and other industries, along with being a powerful export house of China. It has sister province relationship with Gujarat and Maharashtra. A pilot smart city cooperation project has been announced between Shenzhen and the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City in Gujarat last year.
Referring to the links of 2nd century before the Christian era between Guangdong and Kanchipuram through a direct sea route, Mukherjee said this is an exciting time for India and China to reinforce the old linkages and join hands for new ones.
Noting that India has recorded a growth rate of 7.6 per cent each year for over a decade now, he said India believes that it cannot grow in isolation.
“In an increasingly interconnected world, India would like to benefit from technology advances and best practices of different countries. The comprehensive reforms introduced in key areas of our economy have enhanced the ease of doing business in India. Our foreign investment regime has been liberalised through simplified procedures. And removal of restrictions on foreign investments,” he said.
The President said these reforms have renewed the interest of global investors in India. In 2014, there was a 32 per cent growth in investments and in 2015, India emerged as one of the biggest global investment destinations, he said.
India, China must expand shared interests: Prez
Ahead of his important discussions with President Xi Jinping and other top Chinese leaders scheduled for Thursday, President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said India and China must expand their shared interests for the good of the world and move forward significantly enhancing their convergences. Making his maiden visit as the Head of the State, Mukherjee feels it is necessary not just for the good of the two countries but for the world in general.
“This is the message that I bring on this visit,” he said as he began the Beijing leg of his four-day State Visit to China. “Experience leads me to believe that our two nations do have the capability to significantly enhance our convergences and move forward. A rising India and rising China must expand their shared interests - not only because it is good for them (but also for the good of the world). This is the message that I bring on this visit,” the President said.