Commerce officials from South Asian countries called for greater trade and investment cooperation with China to fight the economic downturn at a meeting in southwest China on Friday.
The fourth China and South Asia Business Forum held by China Chamber of International Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and Yunnan Province, attracted more than 300 delegates from the region.
Their addresses mainly focused on the huge opportunities in China, which aims to reach 8-percent growth this year through stimulus packages and boosting domestic consumption.
"The economic survival of developing countries like SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) nations depends on the ability to compete, by attracting foreign capital, enlarging markets and pooling resources," said Tariq Sayeed, president of SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "I am confident that China can practically help in transforming this dream into a reality."
South Asia and China make up 45 percent of the world population, with combined GDP at about 4 trillion US dollars. Trade between the two sides reached 66 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 32 percent year-on-year.
Sayeed called for China to increase its foreign direct investment (FDI) into the south Asian countries that are facing huge trade deficits.
"According to an estimate, FDI of 1 billion generates exports of worth 100 million to 400 million US dollars per annum, depending upon the size of value addition in products," he said.
"I request the government of China to explore more investment opportunities in South Asia, which will not only help South Asian economies to grow, but also enhance export trade to China and help reduce gap in balance of trade."
The crisis also taught the region to reduce dependency on the leading markets in the US and Japan and pay more attention to regional economic cooperation.
"The crisis has stressed the need for growth in intra region trade, so as to decrease the dependence on the so-called developed nations," said Vishambhar Saran, senior vice president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce. "It is this inter-dependence that teaches us to complement each other's strengths."
India had core competence in IT, health care and technology whereas China was more competent in the spheres of projects, infrastructure and manufacturing. If the two countries could complement each other's strengths, cooperation between India and China could increase manifold, he said.
The Asian economies were hit hard by the financial crisis. India's economic growth of 9 percent last year has fallen to 7 percent in the first quarter this year. Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are seeing shrinking remittances sent home by foreign migrant workers. Tourism income also dropped due to fewer arrivals and weakening purchasing power of travelers from developed countries.
The United Nations Children's Fund said Tuesday hunger in the South Asian Region was at its highest level in 40 years with 100 million more people going hungry compared with two years ago, because of food and fuel price rises and the global economic downturn.
To realize it development goals, South Asia required Chinese assistance in developing both conventional and alternate sources of energy including hydro-power, solar, wind and biofuels, said Zakaria Usman, vice president of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
China had reduced tariffs on goods from South Asia, and it was seeking simplified customs procedures and favorable regulations to boost imports from the region, said Zhang Wei, CCPIT vice president.
"We have built mutual trust in investment with south Asian countries. I'm optimistic about trade cooperation between the two sides," he said. "Only through collective efforts can we combat the economic downturn and emerge a winner in global trade."
The forum, the only platform for communication among the commercial and industrial fields in China and South Asia, was held in 2004, 2006 and 2008 in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province.
(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2009)
