National
Zhu seeks more joint ventures
By Our Staff Correspondent
MUMBAI, JAN. 16. The Chinese Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji, today announced the commencement of an airlink between New Delhi and Beijing from March 28. He also called for more bilateral exchanges and the setting up of a joint economic council for science and trade.
Appreciating India's efforts in ushering in a new economic order with improved co-operation among the developing nations, Mr. Zhu said Indian businesses must invest in China and promote bilateral and joint ventures in the ``potentially profitable'' areas of Information Technology, telecommunication, science and technology and education.
Given that the Sino-Indian trade of the order of only $3 billion barely commensurates with the strength and potential of the two large economies, Mr. Zhu hoped it would grow to $10 billion with ``greater encouragement and serious commitment.''
Addressing the business community here today at a luncheon organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Mr. Zhu said the two countries, together hosting a third of the world population, should work towards stability and prosperity of the Asian region with emphasis on human development.
The proposed flights from March 28 would enhance greater interaction between the two countries, he added.
China and India should complement and collaborate with each other, not compete, and treble the bilateral trade. ``What we need to do is explore each other's market.'' If India was strong in IT software, China was equally strong in hardware. ``We can set up joint ventures in India where labour is cheap and make available IT products at a cheaper cost.''
He said that after the introduction of reforms in China, foreign direct investment (FDI) which was around $30-40 billion annually, jumped last year to a record $46.8 billion.
Mr. Zhu said a survey of the Mumbai market by his delegates had revealed that the prices of electronic and household goods were three to six times higher than in China. ``We can bring in the technology and set up joint ventures and even after adding the necessary tariffs, the goods would be cheaper.''
Stating that his country's annual growth last year was 7.3 per cent, Mr. Zhu said he expected to ``keep it at that level because of the IT-driven thrust that is being provided for the next five years.'' In spite of the world-wide recession, China was likely to continue its economic growth.
The Chinese leader suggested the setting up of a Sino- India task force in science and technology and the identification of areas of joint collaboration in education and computer hardware.
He said China was slowly moving towards the establishment of a modern judicial system which would instill confidence in foreigners to invest there following the liberalisation of the economy across the globe.
Earlier, a delegation of Chinese lawyers, part of Mr. Zhu's entourage, interacted with lawyers and visited the Mumbai High Court to get first-hand information about the Indian legal system.
The delegation, during its week-long visit, also met the President, K.R. Narayanan, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Mr. S.P. Bharucha, and the Chief Justice of the Mumbai High Court, Mr. C.K. Thakker. During the meeting with the Chief Justice of the Mumbai High Court, the lawyers discussed issues relating to jurisdiction of courts, laws prevailing to administration of justice and the rule of law in both the countries.
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