Sibal inaugurates 'Made in India' show in Beijing

New Delhi, Sep 8 (UNI) Inaugurating the fourth 'Made in India' show in Chinese capital Beijing, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal today said India's talent pool and China's low-cost leadership could together find solutions to the problems of the common people.

Calling for greater India-China technology partnership, Mr Sibal said multinational companies are coming to India for the talent pool and to China for manufacturing at low costs, but this has not helped the common people.

''China is destined to be India's partner,'' he told a gathering at the China International Exhibition Centre, the venue of the show.

Today the world is driven by high quality and low cost products, which are core areas of expertise for India and China respectively and cooperation among the two countries would be a win-win situation for both the countries, the Science and Technology Ministry quoted Mr Sibal as saying.

Bilateral trade between India and China is on the rise with India's total trade with China touching 18.7 billion dollars this year.

'''C' in China stands for capacities and 'I' in India for innovation. The combination of the two can overtake the world trade,'' said Mr Sibal, who is on a five-day visit to China.

Also present at the inaugural function were Mr Cheng Jin Pei, Chiense Vice Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Wan Jifei, Chairman, China Council for Promotion of International Trade, Mr Nalin Surie, Indian Ambassador to China and Mr R Seshasayee, President of Confederation of Indian Industries.

India and China are emerging economies and it is in the national interests of both the countries to remain friends, said Mr Cheng.

Elaborating on the need to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries, Mr Sibal said today both the countries along with the ASEAN member-countries make up for more than half the world's population, thus representing a market with huge potential.

Economic cooperation not only benefits the economy but also brings the people of the two countries closer, he said adding in the last few years, the two countries have moved from competing in the global arena towards cooperation and collaboration.

On science and technology cooperation, he said there was a broad agreement on evolving a strategic relationship based on the synergy of India's software and China's hardware.

''Our aim is to develop technology which is purposeful, operational and shows results on the ground, thus helping the common man,'' Mr Sibal said.

In his keynote address at the India-China Business Summit, Mr Sibal said Indian and Chinese companies need to look at the bottom of the economic pyramid where there is huge potential for market if one can develop solutions which are simple, affordable and accessible.

The problems of the common man are very similar in both the countries and thus the need to address them will be a mutually beneficial deal, he added.

Mr Sibal will be visiting the Chinese Meteorology Department and other Science and Technology institutions tomorrow and will also participate in the World Economic Forum on Monday.

Yesterday, India signed an agreement with China to strengthen cooperation in science and technology. Under the agreement, a Joint Steering Committee will be set up at the ministerial level to prepare a roadmap within three months for future science and technology cooperation.

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