Headlines
Chinese firms to find doing business in India easier: Sushma
Beijing, Feb 1
India will make it easier for
Chinese companies to do business in the country as it seeks to take
bilateral economic ties with China to "a qualitatively new level",
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Sunday.
She also suggested a six-point template including "action-oriented approach" to boost mutual ties.
Addressing
the launch of the Second India-China Media Forum, Sushma Swaraj also
said the Narendra Modi government was committed to exploring an early
settlement to the India-China boundary row.
Noting China was
India's largest partner in trade and goods and the two economies are
moving to invest in each other, she said: "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."
"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 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".
The minister said that the
media forum was was envisaged as a platform to encourage appreciation
and build understanding of each other's societies in their respective
media.
"As our strategic and cooperative relationship deepens in
the bilateral domain and expands in regional and international
cooperation, it is vital that or people have a good understanding of
each other's interests and viewpoints."
She outlined a six-point
template for boosting ties including action-oriented approach,
broad-based bilateral engagement, convergence on common regional and
global interests, developing new areas of cooperation, expanding
strategic communication and fulfilling common aspirations to usher an
"Asian Century".
A significant new area of bilateral collaboration was in railways including heavy haulage and boosting speed, she said.
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 the Modi government had commenced "a number of key
initiatives addressing a wide range of ambitious goals" which "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 Prime
Minister Modi had three successful meetings with President Xi Jinping,
who visited India in September 2014. Modi 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."
Sushma Swaraj, who will Monday
launch '2015: Visit India Year' in China, said that Chinese monks Fa
Hsien and Xuan Zang had visited India in search of knowledge and Indian
monks Kashyap Matanga, Dharmaratna and many others travelled to China
to spread knowledge.
"It is important for us to revive the Xuan
Zang spirit among Chinese scholars and journalists and Kumarjiva spirit
among Indian scholars and journalists," she said.