Let's create atmosphere for fostering business ties: Hu

NEW DELHI: Chinese president Hu Jintao on Wednesday made a strong pitch for removing barriers to trade and investment. In what clearly reflected Beijing’s unease over New Delhi’s reluctance to give security clearance for bids of Chinese companies to operate in key infrastructure areas like ports, Hu said the two sides should “foster an enabling environment for building strong business ties.”

Hu, who was addressing a gathering at Vigyan Bhawan in the Capital, said the enormous potential in the ties can be tapped only if the two sides address issues that may arise in business interaction.

The Chinese have been complaining about the lack of a ‘level-playing field’ for their investments. In the run up to the visit, the Chinese envoy here amplified this complaint. The Left leaders complimented the efforts of the envoy by criticising what they called attempts to put in place “country-specific regulations”.

India rejected the bid of China Harbour Engineering Co for the Vizhinjam port near Thiruvananthapuram as the company is in the process of developing Pakistan’s Gwadar port. Gwadar port, agencies here maintain has close links with the ISI. According to the Indian security establishment, this opens the possibility of a Chinese naval presence next to Indian borders. The defence ministry, too, is of the view that it could pose a threat to the country’s Maritime security.

But Hu’s aggressive advocacy may not have any immediate impact on the government reflexes was clear when home minister Shivraj Patil said that the threat for maritime security was real. “Our coastal areas are coming under increased threat from terrorist groups which have reportedly decided to use the sea route to infiltrate into India,” Mr Patil said. A position paper prepared by the National Security Council too had said that Chinese investments should not be allowed near coastal areas and vital installations.

Coming back to Hu's address, the president said the two countries should encourage and support co-operation between two countries. "Given the size and potential of our respective economy, there is enormous potential to be tapped. We should work vigorously to increase varieties of goods traded and add more value to them... Our goal is for the two-way trade to reach $40 bn in ’10.”