Headlines
India wants to take economic ties with China to new level
Beijing, Feb 1
Stating that both countries
should have mutual confidence, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj
Sunday said that India desired to take economic ties with China to "a
qualitatively new level".
Addressing the launch of the Second
India-China Media Forum, Sushma Swaraj also said that the Narendra Modi
government was committed to exploring an early settlement to the
Sino-Indian boundary row.
"China is today our largest partner in
trade and goods," the minister said. "The two economies are moving to
invest in each other.
"Serious discussions on enhancing
connectivity have been initiated. On that foundation, we are now seeking
to take our economic cooperation to a qualitatively new level," she
said.
Sushma Swaraj said that as both countries play a larger
international role, "our contacts and dialogues must commensurately
grow. As the two major civilizational powers of Asia, we should have
confidence in each other, to build on our shared interests".
She
said that a particularly significant new area of bilateral collaboration
was in railways. This included heavy haulage, boosting speed and
station development besides capacity building.
"Another major
thrust is in establishing industrial parks in two Indian states that
would contribute to the 'Make in India' initiative," she said.
"We
will make it easier for Chinese companies to do business in India and
expect that similar encouragement would be given to our companies to
expand their business in China."
Sushma Swaraj also appreciated China's decision to open an additional route through Nathula for the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra.
"Our
relationship today has reached a level where we have interactions in
fields that could not have been imagined some years ago.
"We have made considerable progress in establishing and expanding defence contacts and exchanges, including across our border.
"They
contribute to the maintenance of peace and tranquility there, a
pre-requisite for the further development of our relationship."
The
minister underlined that India had a new government "with a decisive
mandate propelled by the aspirations of a young, vibrant and
enterprising generation.
"Even in the last eight months, it is
evident that drastic transformations are underway in my country that
will accelerate our journey to modernity.
"A number of key
initiatives addressing a wide range of ambitious goals are unfolding.
They provide new opportunities for cooperation insofar as our key
international partners are concerned.
"Where China is concerned,
this is very evident in the frequency of our high-level exchanges and
the widening of our already substantive bilateral agenda."
She
recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had three successful meetings
with President Xi Jinping, who visited India in September 2014. Modi,
she said, had also interacted with Primier Li Keqiang.
"We expect
that the momentum that has been set in the last few months would not
only be kept up but accelerated event further at various levels."