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On his final leg of his visit to China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the top business tycoons of China and pitched the 'Make in India' initiative to them.
Speaking to 22 top chinese businessmen, Modi said "You are the 'factory of the world'. Whereas, we are the 'Back office of the world'. You give thrust on production of hardware, while India focuses on software and services".
The top business tycoons present at the interaction included Jack Ma of Alibaba, PowerChina chairman Yan Zhiyong, Xiaomi president Lin Bin, Huawei chairman Sun Yafang, Harbin Electric chairman Zou Lei, Shangri-La Asia Limited chairman Kuok Khoon Chen and Sany chairman Liang Wengen, among others.
And in a bid to assure the top CEOs of the ease of doing business in India, Modi informed them about the steps being taken to make the taxation system transparent, stable and predictable. He also emphasised on his government's effort to not resort to retrospective taxation, probably keeping in mind the possible queries that have come from the CEOs about the recent tax issues foreign investors have faced in the country.
Prime Minister Modi also devised a '5F Formula' for the Chinese businessmen in the process of inviting them to 'Make in India': 'from farm to fibre to fabric to fashion to foreign'.
And the chinese CEOs have responded positively with a number of firms pledging their 'full support' to the 'Make in India' initiative.
Speaking to PM Modi, Alibaba's founder Jack Ma said, "We are excited about India. We are excited about Make in India and Digital India." while Lin Bin, President of mobile handset maker Xiaomi said, "We have some big plans for India, We fully support Make in India."
Indian CEOs who are part of the business delegation that have gone to China with the PM have welcomed the push given to trade relations. Infosys CEO, Vishal Sikka said that India and China working together would create a large pool of opportunities.
"I think what [Prime Minister Modi] said is very appropriate: that history is deep and the future is even brighter. So, the two countries working together will actually create a huge set of opportunities," Sikka said.
Sikka also expressed hope about the trade deficit being reduced with the help of the Prime Minister's visit to China.
As many as 21 agreements were signed between Indian and Chinese firms worth $22 billion at the India-China Business Forum.
