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CII SIGNS MOU WITH CCPIT TO BOOST ECONOMIC, TRADE AND INVESTMENT TIES BETWEEN INDIA & CHINA
In the backdrop of a historic visit by the Prime Minister of India to the People’s
Republic of China, Mr. Anand Mahindra, President, CII signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mr. Wan Jifei, Chairman, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). Following the address of Honourable Prime Minister Vajpayee at a Business Seminar organized jointly by CCPIT, CII and other chambers, this MoU was signed today, in Beijing in the presence of many dignitaries including the Honourable Minister of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice, Shri Arun Jaitley, and aims to foster friendship between the two countries and provide a fillip to bilateral trade and investment.
This MoU gains even greater significance in the light of new developments between India and China. Mr. Anand Mahindra, President of the Confederation of Indian Industry strongly welcomed the agreements between Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Jintao who signed a declaration on the principles for relations and comprehensive cooperation between the Republic of India and the People’s Republic of China in Beijing early this morning. This was followed by the signing of a landmark Border Trade Agreement between External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and Chinese Commerce Minster Lu Fuyuan, that reopens the ancient trade pass at Nathu La in Sikkim. “A move that is sure to go down in history as a milestone in developing bilateral ties between India and China.” Said Mr. Anand Mahindra in a press statement.
Applauding the initiatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China and Government of India, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) inked the MoU with the CCPIT pushing forward it’s five point agenda to work towards the achievement of the trade target of US$ 10 billion. These initiatives include the announcement of a US$ 500 million India investment fund and an agreement for issuance of 6-month multiple entry visas with multiple stays of less than 90 days each to promote short term trade business related travel. Also receiving favour are some issues highlighted by the CII & APEDA in a paper released ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit including separate norms for vegetable and fruit exports to China
As part of this agenda, CCPIT is supporting the Business Information website www.indiachina.org based on the theme “Complementing Competencies” launched by the CII to facilitate economic co-operation between India and China. The site, now operational, includes resources, sectoral information and trade statistics, business directories and news about India China bilateral developments.
A critical development certain to accentuate cross border business ties, is the setting up of a India-China CEOs forum that will deliberate on key issues and opportunities, and facilitate further trade and partnership between the two countries.
CCPIT further committed support to CII’s ‘Hi-Tech’ show and ‘Made in India’ show to be held in China in October this year. The Hi-Tech show will serve as a focal point for highlighting the scope of cooperation in high-end technology sectors and research and development, which has come to provide an unprecedented impetus to the economic growth in China as well as India. The show, which derives its nucleus from the concept of ‘Complementing Competencies’ is the first initiative of its kind, aims to build mutual synergies in terms of breakthrough research, world-class service and building economies of scale.
Recent CII Surveys on knowledge based industries conducted earlier last week ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit were clearly upbeat about investment opportunities for Indian companies in lead sectors like Information Technology, BioTechnology and Drugs & Pharmaceuticals. Given the success of the Prime Minister’s ongoing visit, Indian Industry is extremely positive on prospects across the Great Wall.
In a separate seminar on Monday organized by the Sun Wah Group and chaired by Mr. Anand Mahindra, the take home for Indian and Chinese businesses was “Joint Ventures”, “Investments” and “Action from both sides.” The session was also addressed by Mr. Zhang Xuming, President of the China Centre for Information Industry Development, Dr. Fan Gang, Director, National Institute of Economic Research, Mr. Zhao Yu Hai, Director Generl, Ministry of S&T and Dr. Jun Ma, Senior Economist, Deutsche Bank.
Earlier today, in Beijing, Mr. Edward Tian, CEO, China Netcom (CNC), a leading broadband telecommunications operator in China, organized a Special Roundtable for the CII delegation to discuss opportunities in the Telecommunications space.
The 40 member CEO’s delegation led by CII President Anand Mahindra, accompanying the Prime Minister, includes key companies, who have stakes or interest in the Chinese market. Some of these companies are Mahindra & Mahindra, Hero Corporate Services, Eicher, Ranbaxy, Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Tata International, NIIT, TCS, Jindal Group, SRF, vMoksha Technologies, Lupin, SBI, India Vision Tools, Sterling Farm Research and Services and ICICI bank to name a few. The delegation will be engaging in a range of discussions with the Chinese Business Community through a variety of Roundtables, Business Seminars and one-on-one meetings over the next few days.
June 24, 2003
New Delhi
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