China on Tuesday floated the idea of creating a “mega regional market” with India to mine existing advantages and create new ones within two of the world’s fastest growing economies.
“China and India have different political systems but practise market economy. These are the only two countries with more than 1 billion people each. There is huge potential in (creating) market demand, further (creating) international market demand at a deeper level and at a mega regional level,” said Li Wei, president of the Development Research Centre (DRC) of the State Council (China’s cabinet).
Enhanced cooperation between China and India, Li said, will be a win-win situation and help expand the two markets.
Li, who was speaking at the third round of dialogue between the DRC and India’s NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog, referred to India’s demographic advantage, its efficiency in the software industry and low labour costs as being complementary to China’s experience in developing infrastructure and lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
In his speech, NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar said India was in position to take over as a driver of high growth for the next three decades.
“I think now perhaps all of us agree that given the circumstances globally and in Asia, maybe India can take over the baton of higher growth from China for the next 30 years,” he said.
“Now, India must follow suit. For that we need to focus on and achieve higher rate of growth of employment,” he said. “It is imperative that the two countries work together and help each other to grow further.
“While you (China) are vacating those spaces, India would do well to invite Chinese investment so that those spaces we can fill and generate employment,” Kumar said.
The DRC-NITI Aayog dialogue provides “an important platform for both sides to discuss key macro-economic issues impacting both countries and areas of mutual interest”, an Indian embassy statement said.
Comments
Post a Comment