The governments of India and China should find ways to eliminate "obstacles" affecting bilateral trade and investment to ensure the prosperity of both economies, top businessmen and scholars from both sides have said.
It seems inevitable for China and India, the two fastest-growing economies which have much in common in economic growth mode, to compete with each other, Executive Director of Tata Sons Limited, Alan Rosling said.
However, businesses from both countries can still find opportunities for cooperation in many sectors if obstacles are removed, he said adding persistent obstacles will harm sustainable development of both countries and the integration of the world market.
China's investment of 300 million $ in India so far is belittled if compared with the country's huge economy, Rosling said at a seminar on the harmonious development among India, China and other Asian countries at the annual conference of the Boao Forum of Asia in China's southern isl and province of Hainan.
"The Indian government should be blamed for blocking Chinese enterprises' accession to Indian sectors such as telecommunications on the excuse of national security, and the Chinese side is also responsible for Indian exporters' frustration in selling automobiles and steel products to China," Xinhua news agency quoted Rosling as saying.
A noted economist from Beijing University's China Centre for Economic Research, Lin Yifu agreed with Rosling by saying the two countries should make efforts to eliminate obstacles to trade and investment.
"The Indian government should be blamed for blocking Chinese enterprises' accession to Indian sectors such as telecommunications on the excuse of national security, and the Chinese side is also responsible for Indian exporters' frustration in selling automobiles and steel products to China," Xinhua news agency quoted Rosling as saying.
A noted economist from Beijing University's China Centre for Economic Research, Lin Yifu agreed with Rosling by saying the two countries should make efforts to eliminate obstacles to trade and investment.
Statistics showed that the trade volume between the two countries surged to $ 24.9 billion in 2006 from only 2.1 billion in 2000, making China the second biggest trade partner of India.
India is exporting iron ore, cotton and other raw materials, IT-related products and services to China, while China is mainly exporting finished industrial products to India in the past ten years.
The two countries signed an agreement in last November during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to India to boost cooperation in sectors like higher education, culture, tourism, space development, agriculture and flood prevention.