Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




TRADE WARS
India's Modi brings home $22 billion in China deals
By Bill SAVADOVE
Shanghai (AFP) May 16, 2015


Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi got down to business on the final day of his trip to China on Saturday, saying his country was open for investment as firms signed deals worth more than $22 billion.

"Let us work together in mutual interest and for progress and prosperity of our great countries," Modi told executives from 200 Chinese and Indian companies at a business forum in the Chinese commercial hub Shanghai. "Now India is ready for business."

The nationalist leader was on the final day of a three-day trip to his fellow Asian giant, as the two jockey for regional influence and India's trade deficit with China balloons.

Despite his hardline reputation, Modi has moved to engage with Beijing since his election last year, and he was looking for an economic boost from the visit, seeking to deliver on election promises for foreign investment.

China is India's biggest trading partner with two-way commerce totalling $71 billion (62 billion euros) in 2014. But India's trade deficit with China has soared from just $1 billion in 2001-02 to more than $38 billion last year, Indian figures show.

Indian embassy trade counsellor Namgya Khanpa said the 21 agreements signed at the Shanghai event were "worth over $22 billion", with another five exchanged earlier.

Many of the contracts were for Chinese banks to finance Indian firms, and also included deals in the telecom, steel, solar energy and film sectors, she said.

They included an agreement for the China Development Bank to fund a power plant for India's Adani Power, as well as a steel project between Indian conglomerate Welspun and two Chinese firms, according to a list released by Indian officials. No individual deal values were given.

Modi welcomed potential Chinese investment in sectors including housing, renewable energy, high-speed rail, metro, ports and airports, adding that India was eager to draw on China's expertise in mass manufacturing.

"We are very keen to develop the sectors where China is strong," he told the business forum ahead of the signing ceremony. "We need your involvement."

"I strongly believe that this century belongs to Asia," he said as he sought to stress historical links between the two countries.

But they have followed significantly different economic paths in recent decades, with China rising to become the world's second-largest economy while India has lagged behind, although Modi's election raised hopes for reform among investors.

- 'Complex' relations -

Earlier during Modi's visit Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed him in Xian, the capital of his ancestral home province Shaanxi, in what his host said was an unprecedented gesture.

Nonetheless relations between the world's two most populous nations are soured by a long-running border dispute that saw them fight a brief war in 1962, and on Friday Modi told Premier Li Keqiang that China needs to "reconsider its approach" to their ties.

"Our relationship has been complex in recent decades," Modi said in Beijing, adding there were issues that "trouble smooth development of our relations".

His comments stood out from the usual public declarations by diplomatic visitors to the Chinese capital, who normally stick to uninterrupted pledges of friendship and good relations.

Both countries are members of the BRICS grouping of major emerging economies, but China has vowed to pour investment into India's arch-rival Pakistan as it rolls out infrastructure development plans across Asia, much of which bypass India.

On Saturday, Modi also opened a centre for Indian and Gandhian studies -- referring to the former Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi -- at prestigious Fudan University.

Modi, elected in a landslide victory at polls a year ago, said Friday that democracy was an advantage for his country, but when a group of Indian students studying at Fudan chanted his name as he arrived, suspicious Chinese security guards moved towards them before being waved off.

"We just wanted to greet him," one of the students told AFP.

Modi left China late Saturday to arrive in Ulan Bator, where he will stay for one day as the first Indian prime minister ever to visit Mongolia, according to a tweet by the external affairs ministry.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Global Trade News






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





TRADE WARS
Indian PM Modi leaves for China with trade on mind
New Delhi (AFP) May 13, 2015
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday left for China on an official visit focused on boosting trade ties between Asia's rival superpowers and setting aside their historic mistrust. Modi's office tweeted a picture of him waving from an Air India plane, marking his departure for the three-day trip to China, his first as premier. After arriving in the ancient city of Xian, Modi w ... read more


TRADE WARS
Iran should send aid ship to Djibouti, not Yemen: US

FINDER Search and Rescue Technology Helped Save Lives in Nepal

Red Cross, Nepal firm launch emergency texting service

NY nuclear plant spills oil into Hudson

TRADE WARS
Superhydrophobic glass coating offers clear benefits

Separating rare earth metals with UV light

Researchers match physical and virtual atomic friction experiments

DARPA developing zoom lens to spot distant space objects more clearly

TRADE WARS
Gaza engineer seeks solution to water woes

Rangers hope degraded streams and an endangered tree can help each other

Fresh evidence for how water reached Earth found in asteroid debris

Study shows dietary supplements are good for coral health

TRADE WARS
Fjords are 'hotspots' in global carbon cycling

NASA contributes to first global review of Arctic marine mammals

UT research uncovers lakes, signs of life under Antarctica's dry valleys

Scientists discover salty aquifer and microbial habitat under Antarctica

TRADE WARS
Fungi enhances crop roots and could be a future 'bio-fertilizer'

Human security at risk as depletion of soil accelerates, scientists warn

Low-allergen soybean could have high impact

Startup turns old shipping containers into farms

TRADE WARS
Strong 6.8-magnitude quake hits northeastern Japan

Dozens dead as new quake hits shattered Nepal

Two dead as powerful typhoon clips north Philippines

Nicaragua's Telica volcano spews fiery rock and ash into night sky

TRADE WARS
Algeria army kills two armed Islamists: ministry

Malawi arrests ex-army chief over corruption

Nigeria military claims rescue of another 25 Boko Haram hostages

Sudan military shoots down 'aerial target' near capital: army

TRADE WARS
Can skull shape determine what food was on prehistoric plates

Study finds ancient clam beaches not so natural

Human weapons may not have caused the demise of the Neanderthals

Insight into how brain makes memories




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.