Indian banker calls for closer economic ties between China, India

SHANGHAI - China and India, both among the BRICS countries, should enhance cooperation in trade and investment, an Indian banker said.

"India and China are the two most populous countries in the world. We can be strong trading partners," Hitendra Dave, head of Global Banking and Markets for HSBC India, said here in an interview with Xinhua.

Dave believed that the consumption power of India's population will attract more investment from Chinese companies.

"India has 18 percent of the world's working population and is expected to have 550 million middle class by 2025, which makes the opportunity for Chinese investments in India quite clear," Dave said.

The Indian bank also expected that the shared vision of clean energy will provide more trade opportunities between India and China.

"Greater cooperation and collaboration between them in creating green economies will also go a long way in lowering carbon emissions globally," Dave said.

Moreover, he saw great potential for China and India to cooperate on infrastructure.

"China is highly experienced in infrastructure construction such as airports, highways and subways. India will need that capital as well as the technology and should learn from China's execution capability to advance its infrastructure development," Dave said.

Last year, Indian exports to China went up by nearly 40 percent to $16.34 billion, while overall bilateral trade hit a historic high of $84.4 billion, up 20.3 percent year-on-year, according to statistics from China's Ministry of Commerce.

"Bilateral trade will keep strong growth. I won't be surprised if the volume is above $100 billion this year," said Dave.