Described as the "dragon" and the "elephant" in Asia, China and India, the two largest developing nations of the world, can achieve a win-win position by cooperating rather than competing, said experts attending the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2006 which ran from April 21-23.

The rise of the two countries has caught the world’s attention. The Asia Development Bank projected the economic growth of Asia in 2006 at 7.2 percent with much of that coming from the fast pace of growth in China and India.

During the annual meetings a session entitled "India and China -Strength in Partnership" was held to discuss economic relations between the two countries.

Robert Morse, CEO of Citigroup Asia Pacific, said China and India could both be winners but they required to cooperate rather than compete with each other. The two countries could cooperate more in IT, steel production and medicine, he observed. 

George Yeo, foreign minister of Singapore, said Sino-India relations were at their best. "The world is big enough for both countries and each is too big to be contained by the other," he quoted Indian Prime Minister Manmoham Singh as saying.

For the long-term well being of the global economy it was important for the major Asia economies, including China and India, to play a greater leadership role, Yeo said.

As to economic cooperation between the two countries some say that as developing countries, China and India are competing to attract investment, expanding trade and increasing their own influence. And differences in economic policies and their investment environments also hindered the strengthening of their cooperation.

However, Morse said the countries had just observed the competition between "dragon" and "elephant" while ignoring the potential of the two countries cooperating. 

He said he didn’t believe that there was true competition between the two countries as in a competition there could be only one winner. However, in this case, both countries could hold an important place in the global economic arena.

His words were echoed by other delegates. There was broad agreement that the two countries should strengthen their cooperation and find common areas of interest. 

Manoranjan Mohanty, professor of the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi, said in the past the Indian government had taken a conservative attitude to China but now even ordinary citizens were becoming more interested in the country. 

In 2005, trade volume between the two countries reached US$18.7 billion, up 38 percent year-on-year. At the last meeting of the China-India Joint Economic Group the two ministers of commerce agreed to make serious efforts to ensure their bilateral trade was more sustainable and diversified.

Wang Jinzhen, assistant chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), said the two countries still lacked personnel exchanges and investment. Statistics from the CCPIT show the investment China has made in India stands at US$40 million while India's investment in China is 100 million dollars.

Wang said there was significant potential between the two countries and China would increase   cooperation by seeking out further business opportunities and increasing investment.

Vinay Kwatra, deputy chief of mission of the Indian Embassy to China, said India had adopted a forward-looking approach in building a mutually beneficial relationship with China. "India regards China as its partner and there is growing maturity in our relationship based on political understanding and trust," he said.

Ken Torok, president of UPS Asia Pacific, suggested that just like China learning from India's IT industry, India could also learn from China in its experience of attracting investment which led directly to employment opportunities. 

(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2006)