Ministry of External Affairs Government of India

The third round of the India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue was held in Beijing today. The Dialogue was co-chaired by Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of India and Mr. Xu Shaoshi, Chairman, National Development and Reform Commission of China. It included participation from senior officials of India and China.

Both delegations had extensive and in-depth discussions on bilateral trade, investment, and economic cooperation and on the regional and global economic situation with a view to enhancing macro-economic policy coordination and to join hands to address issues and challenges. Bilateral cooperation in sectors like railways infrastructure, information technology, energy, and finance was emphasized. The two sides agreed to continue deepening bilateral coordination and engagement in multilateral frameworks like the United Nations, Group-20 and BRICS.

Under railways, the two sides agreed to pursue specific collaboration arrangements in heavy haul, station redevelopment and raising speed of existing trains in India. Nodal agencies have been designated to work out implementation modalities in this regard.

Both sides decided to set up a task force under the SED to enable Chinese companies to invest in industries and industrial zones in India.

Memoranda of Understanding on (i) Sustainable Urbanization and on (ii) Cooperation in Information and Communications Technology were signed at the Dialogue. Action Plans on joint studies in sustainable urbanization and energy planning were also signed for completion before the next round of the Dialogue.

Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia will be calling on Premier Li Keqiang tomorrow in Beijing. He also has other bilateral meetings with his counterparts in the Chinese Ministry of Finance, State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and the Chairman of China Development Bank.

The first two rounds of the SED were held in Beijing in September 2011 and in New Delhi in November 2012 respectively. The fourth round will be held in India next year.

Beijing
March 18, 2014