LDALL PRESIDENT 3LST

Addressing the India-China Business Forum in Shanghai,
China's commercial hub, Patil asked business leaders of the
two countries to develop "models of cooperation" that will
address concerns of both sides and realise their true trade
potential.
The President said the relationship between India and
China has the potential to become "one of the biggest
economic and business relationships of the century".
"For a long-term partnership, it is important that we
develop models of cooperation that take into account the
concerns of both parties. I am sure that this will happen
even as our economic relationship unfolds," she said.
Lauding the growth in bilateral trade from a modest
USD 3 billion in 2000 to an impressive USD 52 billion in 2008,
the President said there was still "considerable room" for
further expansion but stressed that there was a need to make
India's export basket fairly representative of its competence.
"India's export basket to China is not representative
of India's competence in a number of areas - for example
pharmaceuticals and engineering products constitute only a
small portion. Similarly, India's vaunted IT industry has a
limited presence in the Chinese domestic market," she said.
In 2009, the trade imbalance between the two nations
tilted heavily against India. China enjoyed trade surplus of
USD 16 billion out of the total USD 44 billion bilateral trade
and its exports to India nearly touched USD 30 billion.
She also said India stands ready to do more business
and welcomed investment by Chinese companies.
After her three-day stay in Beijing, Patil went to
Luoyang in central China's Henan province where she dedicated
the first Indian-styled Buddhist temple in China built close
to the famous White Horse temple complex there.
She visited Indian and Chinese pavilions at Shanghai
Expo-2010 and unveiled a statue of poet Rabindranath Tagore at
a street in Shanghai commemorating his visit to the eastern
Chinese city. PTI