This consensus emerged at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2006, the Chinese version of the Davos conference, which concluded in Boao on Sunday.
The rising of China and India has caught worldwide attention. The Asian Development Bank projected the economic growth of Asia in 2006 at 7.2 per cent, which mainly gains power from the fast growth of China and India, Xinhua news agency reported from Boao, a picturesque city in the island province of Hainan.
For the first time during the annual meetings, a session titled 'India and China - Strength in Partnership' was held to discuss the economic relations between the two countries.
India has adopted a forward-looking approach in building a mutually beneficial relationship with China, the deputy chief of mission of the Indian Embassy to China, Vinay Kwatra, said.
"India regards China as its partner and there is growing maturity in our relationship based on political understanding and trust," he said.
FICCI secretary general, Dr Amit Mitra, who co-chaired the session, forecast that in 2006, the India-China bilateral trade would exceed $20 billion, setting a new record.
In 2005, bilateral two-way trade rose to $18.7 billion up 37.5 per cent over 2004. "If this trend continues, according to our estimate, in 2006, the two-way trade, will surpass that in 2005 to $20 billion," Mitra said.
CEO of Citigroup Asia Pacific, Robert Morse said China and India can both be winners, but they need to cooperate rather than compete with each other. The two countries can cooperate more in fields such as IT, steel and medicine.
George Yeo, foreign minister of Singapore, said the Sino-India relations are at their best. "The world is big enough for both countries and each is too big to be contained by the other," he quoted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as saying.
For long-term health of the global economy, it is important for the major Asia economies, including China and India, to play a greater leadership role, Yeo said.
Morse said he does not believe that there is solely competition between the two countries, since in a competition, the winner can only be one. In this case, both countries can hold an important place in global economic arena.
Prof. Manoranjan Mohanty with the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi, said in the past the Indian government took a conservative attitude to China, but now ordinary citizens have become more friendly to China.
In 2005, trade volume between the two countries reached $18.7 billion, up 38 per cent year-on-year. During the last meeting of China-India Joint Economic Group, the two ministers of commerce agreed to take serious efforts to make their bilateral trade more sustainable and diversified.
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