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President Xi Urges ’an Asian Century of Prosperity and Renewal’
18 September 2014
Ramtanu Maitra
(EIRNS)—Prior to his arrival on a three-day (Sept. 17-19) visit to India, China’s President Xi Jinping, in an article on Sept. 17 in the Indian daily, "The Hindu," urged China and India to join hands to build what he called an Asian century of prosperity and renewal. "I am confident that as long as China and India work together, the Asian century of prosperity and renewal will surely arrive at an early date," Xi wrote. "Our bilateral relations have reached where they are today as a result of the following efforts: we have deepened mutual trust by strengthening strategic dialogue and enhancing political confidence; we have brought more benefits to each other by expanding the areas of cooperation and making the pie of common interests bigger," wrote Xi. Arriving in Ahmedabad, the capital of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home-state of Gujarat, where Modi had a successful 13-year stint as Chief Minister, Xi visited Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram and, later, attended a private dinner hosted by Modi on the Riverfront Park by the Sabarmati River. "We need to jointly develop the BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) Economic Corridor, discuss the initiatives of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and lead the sustainable growth of the Asian economy," said Xi. Upon his arrival, Xi and Modi signed three MOUs. One of the MOUs is between China Development Bank (CDB) and Industrial Extension Bureau (iNDEXTb) of the Gujarat government and relates to development of two industrial parks, one in the state of Gujarat and the other in the adjoining state of Maharashtra. Another pact was signed between China’s Guangdong province and Gujarat government. And the third MOU was between the cities of Guangzhou (Canton) and Ahmedabad for cultural exchange. President Xi left for New Delhi on the evening of the 17th. In New Delhi, during his official meeting with Modi, and later with Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, the broader aspects of future China-India relations will be discussed. According to available reports, China is interested in making a commitment to invest about $100 billion in India. Most of these investments will be in the modernization of Indian railroads, development of industrial parks, diversion of surplus waters from India’s northern rivers to the southern peninsular rivers. and development of ports to facilitate participation in the Maritime Silk Road, the focus of President Xi during his recent visit to the Maldives, Sri Lanka and India. |
