India, China developing relationship of substance: Indian ambassador- 2010-12-13

India, China developing relationship of substance: Indian ambassador

English.news.cn 2010-12-13 11:38:42

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The convergence of interests of India and China will transcend rhetoric and manifest itself in substantial cooperation and interaction, Indian Ambassador to China Dr. S. Jaishankar said in Beijing Monday.

"This could be expressed in different dimensions of our relationship: on bilateral ties, on regional questions and on global issues," he told Xinhua.

India hoped Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to India in mid December would raise the level of bilateral cooperation, Jaishankar said.

Relations had developed positively since Wen's last visit in 2005, when China and India agreed to establish a "strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity."

He said the two countries had built up a record of interaction in a range of fields, from agriculture and environment to urbanization and transport.

"Even on our differences, we have managed them well while seeking long-term solutions," he said.

Bilateral trade reached 49.8 billion U.S. dollars for the first 10 months and the two nations are expected to achieve their trade target of 60 billion U.S. dollars by 2010.

"What the sharp increase in bilateral trade really tells us is that there is a natural fit between the economies of India and China at their present stage of development," he said.


India, China developing relationship of substance: Indian ambassador

English.news.cn 2010-12-13 11:38:42 FeedbackPrintRSS

China had capabilities in power generation, telecommunications, construction and transport that India could leverage to address its infrastructure deficit, while India could be a significant partner of China in information technology and pharmaceuticals, he said.

"When you consider that India could be spending as much as a trillion dollars over the next five years on infrastructure, just imagine what heights our relationship can reach," he said.

"I have no doubt that the growth we have seen in trade so far is only the beginning," he said.

India needed more balanced market access so that large imbalances did not become a problem for the relationship, he added.

Jaishankar said India had organized a succession of cultural events in 35 Chinese cities this year to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-India diplomatic relations.

"Events like the Shanghai Expo or the Guangzhou Asian Games provided great opportunities to project our culture," he said. "We need to do more, particularly in tourism and education."

With regard to problems in Sino-Indian relations, he said most of the issues were historic, and in other cases, "the old mindset still prevails."

"The question really boils down to whether one recognizes the reality of growing inter-dependence in the contemporary world," he said, adding the risks of not getting along were very high.

He said that so long as world views were dominated by the balance of power and national competition, issues in the relationship would get more prominence than they probably deserved.

India and China had cooperated closely in the BRIC (Brazil, Russian, India, China) and G20 forums, which were good examples of the convergence of interest between the two countries.

"BRIC and G20 are signs of a changing world. For countries like India and China, they offer a forum to influence and in some cases remedy the nature of global decision-making," he said.