The IT Asia Century would come if China and India would learn from each other and further cooperate in this regard, according to Premier Wen Jiabao in Bangalore Sunday.  

"If China and India could take the lead in the IT cooperation in the world, it means the IT Asia Century would come," said Wen when he visited Tata Consultancy Service (TCS), the largest software consultant service in Asia.

He added if IT represents the development of science and economy, the cooperation will foresee the prosperity of the two countries. "The day (of our prosperity) will come definitely," Wen said.

Wen's visit to TCS is the first item on his India tour agenda. After hearing the introduction by S. Ramardora, CEO of the TCS, Wen said Sino-Indian friendship is rooted in the peoples of the two countries, and cooperation also lies in the enterprises and individuals of all circles.

The IT industry relies on two factors, Wen said, one is brain and the other is market. Both China and India have talents, and there is a big market in the world, thus as long as the two sides work together, they would see a new horizon, he added.

China and India have maintained close cooperation in IT industry, especially after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited China in 2003, cooperation in all fields has been upgraded.

The TCS, specializing in software designing and information handling, established the first India-owned company in China in 1990s, and now it has office in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as a research center in Hangzhou. China's Huawei telecommunication company also opened the research center in Bangalore.

"China has advantage in hardware, and India in software, and the IT industry of the two countries would take the lead in the world with complementary cooperation," he said.

Wen attributed the booming IT industry of the two countries to the splendid culture foundation and the people's wisdom and hard-working.

"The two nations are full of wisdom," indicating that India had found digital zero, and now it makes progress in the computer science. This shows how big step India has marched on the road of industrialization and scientific development, he said.

China has also developed rapidly in IT industry, he said, noting China now has 500 million phone users and almost 100 million computers.

Ramardora said China and India are major powers of the world and the two sides should cooperation in many fields like IT. He would like to contribute his 30 years' experience in IT to promote the cooperation between the two countries.

The premier visited an automobile designing lab. The staff there particularly told the premier the lab was working for a high-tech engine, and it will be made by China.

India is the final leg of Wen's four-nation South Asian tour. "China and India are like two towers, and only if the two sides cooperate could they achieve prosperity and progress," Wen said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 11, 2005)