China, India to strengthen collaboration within G20 framework

NEW DELHI - China and India have agreed to increase dialogue and further cooperate within the G20 framwork in a bid to enhance relations between the two countries, officials said.

While attending the China-India Financial Dialogue which concluded this week in Beijing, the officials from finance ministries and other key government departments agreed that it is essential for the two sides to share informationn and experiences in financial management, macro-economic policy making and structural reform measures.

"By upgrading the level of financial exchanges and policy coordination, China and India would be building a more advanced mechanism for carrying out future investemnt and trade at a higher level, while some vacuums in terms of government policy and laws will be filled step by step," said an Indian economist here on condition of anynomity.

The two countries have already called for a more democratic structure of global financial governance through the reform of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. But they have so far failed to find sufficient resources to supplement them.

"The existing structure and framework are crumbling while the needs for a more resilient mechanism for doing business are growing daily," said another local economist.

For example, there have been talks of free exchange of the Chinese Reminbi and the Indian Rupee at the local markets, as busnessmen investing in each other's countries are faced with numerous obstacles in payment through a third currency like the US dollar and the Euro, he said on condition of anynomity.

With the shadow of financial crisis still hanging over Asia after the 2008 financial crisis, the mutual support regarding currency would help fend off international speculation, said the economist, adding that the rupee has fallen by one third against the US dollar in five years and inflation is causing discontent. The two sides also agreed to build platforms for financial interactions while fully using the AIIB, BRICS New Development Bank and BRICS Contingency Reserve Arrangement to enhance cooperation.