FICCI
Jack Ma, Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group, and Sidharth Birla, President, FICCI

A senior official in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry recently called upon Indian and Chinese entrepreneurs to collaborate, cooperate and deepen their business engagements in order to conquer world markets.

Addressing the India-China (Zhejiang) Business Cooperation Conference, which was organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in association with the Zhejiang Federation of Industry and Commerce in New Delhi on November 26, Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, said that while India excelled in software and IT development, China’s growth could be attributed to its manufacturing sector. By collaborating on the two sectors, he pointed out, there was scope for advanced manufacturing and the two countries could penetrate world markets with the unique mix.

On the trade deficit with China, Kant said it was an unsustainable situation and urged Chinese companies to invest and set up businesses in India.

The conference witnessed the signing of memorandum of understanding worth over $2.4 billion between Indian and Chinese businesses, the most notable being the one between Zhejiang-based Kunlun Chuangyuan Investment Company Ltd and Ahmedabad-based Kiri Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd for the $1.5-billion India International Trade Centre project in Gujarat.

Besides, the event also provided a platform to the high-powered 100-member Chinese business delegation to exchange ideas with Indian businessmen on how the two countries could further widen and deepen their economic engagement. The focus of the interaction was on providing a roadmap to remove the hurdles that currently plague bilateral trade and investment between India and China.

The Chinese delegation included Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of the e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group, who had captured the world stage with the record-breaking $25 billion initial public offering on the NYSE. Speaking at the conference, Ma highlighted that there was lot of potential for Indo-China business cooperation and expressed hope more Indian vendors would sell their products to Chinese users through his company’s e-commerce platform.


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