Indian Chamber ties up with Yunnan body

Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has signed a treaty with the Yunnan Provincial Chamber of Commerce for mutual co-operation.

The main areas of co-operations could be connectivity, both air and road. K P V Nair, chairman, Asia Centre said the governor of Yunnan province has assured direct flights to India.

Umang Kanoria, president-elect ICC said, in 1990, trade volume between China and India which stood at $260 million has now reached $13.6 billion in 2004, up by 79 per cent over the total trade volume of 2003.

He added, India enjoyed a trade surplus of $1.75 billion. If growth remained at current levels, India-China trade could cross $17 billion by end of the current fiscal.

In contrast, India's trade with the United States has grown by just over 23 per cent in April-August 2004. For China, India has emerged among the top 10 Asian trading partners for the the first time.

"The Chinese prowess in manufacturing and India's strength in the knowledge sector has created a synergy, which can indeed be a formidable force to reckon with" said Kanoria.

ICC also proposed that West Bengal should be given a nodal role by the Union government so that the concept of sub-regional cooperation gained maximum currency. Beijing allowed Yunnan to take the leadership role in the Kunming Initiative.