Montek urges China to open its market to Indian IT, pharma

Beijing: India today urged China to open its huge markets to Indian IT and pharma products to bring about balance in bilateral trade.

“I believe the Chinese side is aware of our market access concerns,” said Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia at the first Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) between the two countries here.

Praising the giant strides made by China in its economic development, he said that India looks to China to open its markets for IT and Pharma.

[caption id=“attachment_92580” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Reuters”]  [/caption]

“Taking a strategic view of our relationship, I hope that they would consider a more positive approach in sectors like IT and Pharmaceuticals, where I believe India’s competitiveness is not in doubt, and where there is great unrealised potential,” said Ahluwalia.

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Although the bilateral trade crossed $61 billion this year, India was left with deficit of over $40.9 billion due to accelerated exports from China.

Besides pressing China to open its IT and pharmaceutical market, which Indian official think holds huge potential, India also conducted high voltage campaigns to raise awareness in China about the strides Indian companies made in the two sectors.

“This will not only help project our overall economic partnership as a win-win situation but give Chinese companies more options in their own growth trajectory,” Ahluwalia argued.

“I would encourage our Chinese colleagues to be equally candid about expressing their concerns. Both sides should discuss ways of improving the investment climate as that is essential to raise our economic relationship to a higher level,” he added.

Ahluwalia said India is also interested in stepping up cooperation with China on railways development. “I am very happy that this group will also provide an opportunity for interaction between our senior railway officials. We view this as a critical area for development of infrastructure and also promotion of energy efficiency.”

Apparently referring to strides made by China in high speed train technology and network, he said, “We are aware of China’s impressive achievements in the railways sector. Our past exchanges have been relatively limited. I believe we can do better and I hope that we can look at the future with a more open mind.”

The discussions on railway related issues were conducted by Vinay Mittal, Chairman Railway Board, Kul Bhushan, Adviser (Electrical) and R K Jain Adviser (Infrastructure) of the Railway Board.

Two sides also held in-depth talks on ‘Energy Conservation and Environment Protection’ issues.

The talks on these issues is very important as India envision a broader economic collaboration, Ahluwalia said.

“A better understanding of energy efficiency policies and practices in our respective countries as well as policies on renewable energy, specially wind, solar power and other renewables could be the basis for building more partnerships between our enterprises,” he said.

On China’s economic development, Ahluwalia said, “Our two countries today share many commonalities. Your achievements in transforming your economy are well recognised all over the world. We in India are deeply impressed by your progress and we believe there are many lessons from your experience that may be valuable to us,” Ahluwalia said.

On emerging economies like China and India, Ahluwalia said the industrialised countries are still in a dominant position, but the growth differential between them ensures that a sharp shift in the relative weightage in favour of emerging economies is now inevitable.

“If we take a 20-year horizon, we know that the world will look very different. The change in relative economic weight calls for changes in the global order and these changes can be brought about faster, and more effectively, if India and China work together along with other emerging market economies,” Ahluwalia said.

Two sides have strong convergence of views or interests on global issues, such as climate change or global trading rules, he said.

“The emergence of new groupings such as the G-20 is indicative of the new global architecture. We have a common interest that this new architecture should be such that developed countries make more room for us.

“We need to collaborate in new groupings, such as G-20 and the BRICS to ensure there is a regular exchange of views between us,” Ahluwalia said.

PTI