China-India Forum discusses 'developmental partnership'

China and India, both large economies developing at a fast pace, should enhance their cooperation and dialogue to promote their ties and better contribute to the global economy, scholars from both countries said at a weekend forum.

Chinese and Indian academicians gathered at the Second China-India Think Tank Forum on Saturday and Sunday in Beijing to discuss "strategic cooperation and developmental partnership".

The forum, sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and India's Ministry of External Affairs, covered issues of strategic communication, trade and investment, people-to-people exchanges and science and technology.

At its opening ceremony, CASS President Wang Weiguang said China and India are "two important forces in the world's process of multipolarization" and their think tanks should participate in strengthening their bilateral cooperation.

China-India cooperation benefits not only the two countries, but also Asia and the world, Wang said.

India's delegation consisted of 17 experts and scholars from 11 Indian think tanks and institutions, said Nalin Surie, delegation head and director general of the Indian Council of World Affairs.

The two countries "are expected to play a much greater role in international affairs", said Surie, who is also a former Indian ambassador to China.

"We have a variety of reasons to cooperate and collaborate, rather than entering into needless competition or rivalry," he said. The two countries should ensure that differences between them do not become disputes, he said, but are converted into opportunities for greater cooperation.

China and India established the forum in 2015, and it was first held in December the following year in New Delhi. The two countries will alternate as host of the annual event.

Indian Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale said, "The genesis of this platform lies in our shared belief in the need for greater and more sustained dialogue among our scholars and academics."

The ambassador called for "sustained and in-depth dialogue" at the governmental as well as societal levels in order to sustain ties between the two countries.

China and India are the world's two most populous countries and are regarded as important players in the global economy.

Hu Shisheng, director of the Institute of South and Southeast Asian and Oceania Studies under the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said on the sidelines of the forum that the two countries should focus on cooperation in development.

They "have many similar aspects in their national conditions", and communication on developmental issues will help build a more solid foundation for the bilateral ties, Hu said.

wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/26/2017 page3)