China will be developing nation till western region develops: Xilai

Mumbai, March 19 (UNI) China will continue to remain a developing nation till such time as the economic advancements of the country's south-eastern region does not percolate to the under-developed western region, Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai today said.

Delivering his keynote address at the Asia Society's 16th Asian Corporate Conference on China-India Bilateral Economic Co-operation here, Mr Xilai said China's western region is currently hampered by poor infrastructural support.

'Global perception of China's economic progress is largely guided by the advancements in the nation's south-eastern region, he said, adding that it would take another 50 years for the nation's western region to attain a desirable level of development.

Underlining the need for closer co-operation between India and China, Mr Xilai said his country could learn from Indian experiences in the areas of IT and software development, education and services sector development, 'even as India seeks to benchmark China's achievements in infrastructure development.'

Citing the six-fold growth in Sino-India trade which in 2005 stood at USD 18.7 billion, Mr Xilai said that 'closer co-operation between the two countries will set the tone for the beginning of the Asian century.' He underscored India's economic growth in recent years and said that India enjoyed two distinct advantages compared to China, namely, familiarity with the English language and a growing population where a two-child norm is being followed, unlike the one-child norm in his country.

Highlighting the need for closer integration of Asian nations, Mr Xilai cited the growing economic links between China and Asia and said that China has become the largest market for Korea, the second largest market for Japan and the third largest for India, Thailand and the Philippines.

Replying to a query from the audience on the rule of law in China, the minister said that 'democracy is a process and not the ultimate goal.

The key priority of the government is to ensure a higher standard of living for the people,' he said, adding that the 'definition of democracy is understood differently in the developed and developing countries.' Earlier, India's Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Alhuwalia said that economic engagement between India and China were 'very recent but had great growth potential.' He said that China had achieved great progress in the manufacturing sector and Indian businessmen were pointing to this achievement in their interactions with the government.

UNI