'Sino-India Internet cooperation can help dissolve mistrust'

Internet cooperation between China and India can help dissolve the increasing mistrust between the two countries, state-run media here said today.
"As bilateral ties between China and India grow increasingly complicated and uncertain, cooperation between the two emerging Asian powers over Internet-related technologies is likely to provide a good platform to strengthen their future relations," an article in the state- run Global Times said.
If companies from China and India can take advantage of their economic complementarity in Internet-related sectors, then they could both possibly be strong enough to compete with top American tech brands like Uber and Amazon, the article said.

"China and India are twopowerful emerging countries in the world, and thus properly handling bilateral ties will not be easy. To dissolve strategic mistrust between the two countries, one effective way is in promoting economic complementarity to make sure both sides' common interests far outweigh their differences," it said.
Economic cooperation has long been seen as the stabiliser for bilateral ties, and expanding common interests between the two countries now appears more important than ever, it said , referring to differences between the two Asian giants over the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh.
The rise of India's Internet-related sectors offers huge opportunities for China and India to enhance economic ties and expand their common interests, it said.

The mobile Internet market in India today is strikingly similar to that of China several years ago when tech giants Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings experienced rapid business expansion, the article said.

Those companies have been able to use their capital and technology in capturing market opportunities to help support local startups and business innovation in India, it said.
In March, Indian ecommerce and digital payment platform Paytm raised around USD 177 million from Alibaba, helping the home grown company sharpen its competitiveness against Amazon, it noted.
"However, Internet-related cooperation between China and India is still in its primary stage. Chinese companies have advantages in capital and technology, while Indian home grown enterprises have a better understanding of local markets and regulations," the article said.

"There is great potential for further cooperation, which could be a win-win for both," it said.