Mumbai, March 19:

Chinese commerce minister Bo Xilai today made a strong pitch for enhancing bilateral trade ties with India on the back of rapidly rising economies of the two Asian giants.

“In the rise of Asia, China and India will certainly play a very important role,” Xilai told a business conference here organised by the Asia Society in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The minister, on a visit to the city, said the population of the two countries accounted for 40 per cent of the world’s population, and therefore could jointly play a major role in the world economy. “In 2000, Sino-Indian bilateral trade was less than $3 billion whereas in 2005 the bilateral trade had reached $18.7 billi-on. So, there was a six-fold in-crease in five years time,” said Xilai, “China has been the fas-test growing trading partner for India. But we should not be content with that. There is a huge potential for trade between China and India. The trade between the two countries has just started.”

Referring to the rapidly growing economies of China and India, the minister said the rise of China, India and other ASEAN members would significantly elevate the status of the Asian people. While India’s economy is projected to expand by a robust 8.1 per cent in the financial year ending March 31, 2006, the Chinese economy grew by nearly 10 per cent in 2005 on the back of robust foreign investment inflows.

The Chinese minister said India’s economic potential had been unleashed in a big way after the country embraced economic reforms 15 years ago. He said India’s economy would continue to grow between eight and 10 per cent in the coming years.

“This is also why the Chinese businesses pay such str-ong attention to partner with India. I believe in future India’s power is infinite,” he said.

Comparing India’s economy with China, Xilai said India has at least two advantages over China. “One is the level of use of the English language in the country that helps Indian businesses easily communicate in the Western world. And another, is labour resources in which India too has a competitive edge over China,” he said.

The minister said the Chinese economy had begun the process of integrating with the economies of the Asian countries. “Chinese trade with Asia in 2005 accounted for 57 per cent of the total trade of China. Out of $660 billion of total imports into the country, over $400 billion imports were from the Asian countries,” he said, “China has become an emerging market for the Asian countries. China’s development will always be closely connected with Asian countries.”

The Chinese minister’s observations came a day after prime minister Manmohan Singh said the government was working on free trade agreements with Asian countries like Japan and China with a view to opening up new growth avenues. According to Singh, efforts are on to link India into a web of partnerships with the countries of the Asian region through free trade and economic cooperation agreements.