India and China on Friday resolved to work together to further strengthen their closer developmental partnership, citing provision of impetus to economic growth and prosperity of the two countries as well as of their respective regions and the world at large.
Taking note of the increase in two-way trade and investment flows in the past few years, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday acknowledged its positive contribution to strengthening their overall bilateral relationship and to supporting each other's growth and development processes.
In this regard, it was agreed that both nations would take necessary measures to remove impediments to bilateral trade and investment, facilitate greater market access to each other's economies, and support local governments of the two countries to strengthen trade and investment exchanges, with a view to optimally exploit present and potential complementarities in identified sectors in the Five Year Trade and Economic Development Plan signed in September 2014, including Indian pharmaceuticals, IT services, tourism, textiles and agro-products.
India and China also resolved to take joint measures to alleviate the skewed bilateral trade so as to realize its sustainability. Such measures will include cooperation on pharmaceutical supervision
including registration, speedier phytosanitary negotiations on agro-products for two-way trade, stronger links between Indian IT companies and Chinese enterprises, and increasing services trade in tourism, films, healthcare, IT and logistics.
Both nations will make full use of the India-China Joint Economic Group to work on this. The leaders welcomed the decision to expedite discussion and endeavour to favourably address, in the spirit of
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mutual cooperation and reciprocity, the issues pertaining to tariff reduction in respect of relevant Indian products under the framework of Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement.
The two nations also agreed that the strategic economic dialogue is an important mechanism to explore new areas of bilateral economic cooperation. The next meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue,
co-chaired by Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog of India and Chairman of NDRC of China, will be held in India during the second half of 2015.
The leaders noted with appreciation the positive momentum in investment projects as Chinese companies respond to the invitation to 'Make in India' and Indian companies expand their presence in China.
Both Modi and Keqiangon noted with satisfaction the steps taken and the progress achieved in the Railway sector cooperation including the projects on speed raising on the existing Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysore line, the proposed feasibility studies for the Delhi-Nagpur section of high speed rail link, the station redevelopment planning for Bhubaneswar and Baiyappanahalli, heavy haul transportation training and setting up of a railway university. They welcomed the Action Plan outlining the next steps in the partnership in this key infrastructure sector.
The two leaders welcomed the signing of the MoU to institute a dialogue mechanism between the NITI Aayog of India and the Development Research Centre of the State Council of China and expressed their readiness to enhance cooperation between the financial regulators and enterprises of the two countries in support of the building of the closer developmental partnership.