MUMBAI: China today reached out to the Indian industry, saying bilateral cooperation between the two will benefit the entire world.
“At present, India is an important country and our mutual cooperation will benefit not just the two countries but the entire world… co-operation is the only way to success,” Han Zheng, a member of the political bureau of the Chinese Communist party and party secretary of Shanghai, told an industry gathering here this evening.
“We are looking at how Shanghai can partner with the Indian industry in science and technology, innovation, financial and IT services and contribute towards greater Indo-China economic engagement.”
Han was accompanied by a high-level government and business delegation.
Addressing the CII event, Han said the world is following two economies (China and India) and both have contributed immensely to the world’s growth.
He noted that at present, 50 per cent of Indian merchandise coming to China comes through Shanghai, which signifies the strength of the bilateral trade. In 2014, Mumbai and Shanghai were teamed as sister cities.
“Today, India and China are deeply integrated with the world economy and we have much in common and both nations can benefit out of it,” he stressed.
Han referred to Shanghai as one of the five prosperous cities in the world, which showcases socialist development path of China.
Addressing the gathering, state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he did not want to change the character of Mumbai to Shanghai, but “we need to learn how to transform the city in such a short time as Shanghai did”.
He said Mumbai is embarking on projects of USD 15 billion in 2016 and and the state alone has the capacity to provide work to the Chinese for a decade.
“That is the capacity at which our state consume and fortunately Chinese companies are already entering the state. Every week I meet a new Chinese company willing to invest and I am very happy to welcome them,” Fadnavis said.
During the session on ‘China & India Strengthening Partnership’, an MoU was signed between the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce and the Confederation of Indian Industry for establishing economic and trade partnership.
Earlier, CII’s new President Naushad Forbes said that given the economic growth drivers and risk factors, the country’s medium term outlook looks positive.
India is expected to remain the fastest-growing large economy of the world. With this background, CII expects GDP growth of around 8 per cent in 2016-17, he said.