Indo-China strategic economic dialogue aimed at high speed rail tracks

BEIJING: India and China will hold the third round of their strategic economic dialogue here this week aimed at raising the speed of Indian trains and improving heavy haul operations and rail stock.

Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia will arrive here tomorrow for the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) to be held here on Mar 18. Five working groups covering different areas are finalising the details for the high level economic and trade dialogue between the two countries. Besides attending SED, Ahluwalia would call on Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on March 19.

The Chinese delegation will be headed by Chairman of the National Reforms Development Commission (NDRC) Xu Shaoshi.

The working groups covered areas like infrastructure, mainly the railways and operationalise the agreement for service centres to be set up in India for Chinese power equipment, environment and resources protection, water management and policy coordination, collaboration on planning and urbanisation, cooperation in high technology including the IT sector.

Officials said the working group on infrastructure focussed discussions to work out collaboration in strengthening the existing tracks in India to increase speed of the trains, official sources told PTI.

They said talks would be centred on high speed tracks, not high speed trains in which China has developed expertise in recent years. The two sides would also discuss collaboration in heavy haul of rail stock and redevelopment of the railway stations. Present global economic situation, cooperation in international monetary and financial systems, global commodity markets, sustainable development and climate change would also figure in the discussion.