New Delhi, May 13
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
has said that he wants to work on a roadmap to qualitatively upgrade
economic relations with China. He also said that he was open to
discussing regional connectivity, including the Silk Road concept, with
Chinese leaders.
"I look forward to working out a roadmap for
qualitatively upgrading our economic relations and seek greater Chinese
participation in India's economic growth, especially in transforming
India's manufacturing sector and infrastructure," Modi said in an
interaction with New Delhi-based Chinese media on Tuesday on the eve of
his visit to China.
The prime said he wanted to focus on how
India and China can further strengthen mutual trust and confidence, so
as to realise the full potential of the relationship, China's state-run
Xinhua news agency reported.
He also said that he believed the
relationship between India and China could be one of the most important
relationships of the century. "I intend to work with the Chinese
leadership to lay the foundation for this," he said.
On the
potential cooperation between India and China on the "Silk Belt and
Road" economic cooperation plan, Modi said that since ancient times,
Asia has been connected in a variety of ways by land and sea.
"Today,
a re-emerging Asia must reconnect its many regions and with the world
beyond. Like China, India too is seeking to strengthen connectivity to
the East and West. India and China are also working together on
Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar Corridor," he said.
The prime minister said this would be one of the issues that he expected to discuss with Chinese leaders.
Regarding
cooperation on the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), the
prime minister said India and China have been cooperating since last
year in creating the AIIB.
"We welcome the initiative that can
play a role in meeting some of the large demands for infrastructure
development in our region. This is an example of expanding cooperation,"
he said.
On India's participation in the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) as a full member, Modi said his government hoped to
intensify its engagement with the SCO in the coming years, especially in
the spheres of economic development, energy cooperation and
counter-terrorism.
