Anil Ambani to head team for India-China trade forum
19 Sep 2011
Slated to meet shortly, the newly constituted India-China CEOs Forum will initially focus on key areas of mutual interest, including power and renewable energy, infrastructure, information technology services, pharmaceuticals, and banking and financial services.
The decision to set up the forum was taken during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Beijing in 2008.
It was prompted by the fact that despite strained relations in certain areas, China is now India's biggest trading partner, ahead of the US. Trade between the two countries hit a new high of $62 billion in the 2010-2011 fiscal.
India-China trade has been growing at three or four times the Indo-US trade for the last five years. Chinese exports to India continue to heavily outbalance imports from India, accounting for two-thirds of the trade figure.
On the Indian side, the forum is co-chaired by Reliance ADAG boss Anil Ambani. It includes Mahindra & Mahindra vice-chairman Anand Mahindra, Suzlon India managing director Tulsi Tanti, Tata Consultancy Services chief executive N Chandrasekharan, Cipla managing director Yusuf Hamied, Essar Group chief executive Prashant Ruia, Bharti Forge managing director Baba Kalyani, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, and State Bank of India chairman Pratip Chaudhuri.
The choice of the Indian team clearly reflects the key areas of concern in India-China trade ties.
