Fourth NITI Aayog- DRC Dialogue

Global Economy, Globalisation and Macro-Economic Policies in China and India; Innovation and Economic Transformation, and Potential for Sino-India Trade and Economic Cooperation were deliberated upon by senior delegates from China and India administration, representatives of government, academia and enterprises at the 4^th  Dialogue of the NITI Aayog – Development Research Centre (DRC) of the State Council of Peoples’ Republic of China held in Mumbai on Thursday 01 November 2018.

NITI-DRC Dialogue is a strong platform for continuous intellectual engagement between India and China, wherein inputs from sectoral experts help identify and collaborate on key areas of economic cooperation, as highlighted in his opening remarks by Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, who led the Indian delegation.

DRC China’s delegation led by its President of Mr. Li Wei, as part of the Dialogue participated in technical field visits in Mumbai and Bengaluru where they visited leading industrial leaders, technical universities, research centres and innovation and IT ecosystems established in India.

As per the statement issued after the conclusion of the 4^th NITI-DRC Dialogue:

• India and China affirmed their commitment for a more inclusive and truly global world order, with multilateralism as the preferred way forward.
• India and China are poised to become global leaders in digital innovation with rising number of tech startups operating in various sectors, it was observed.
• On electric mobility, with India envisioning to move towards EVs and ZEVs by 2030, as also showcased by the Global Mobility Summit recently organized by NITI Aayog, avenues for collaboration via joint research and development, public and private investment were discussed.
• India and China agreed to examine various trade sector related issues, and the need for enhanced policy coordination to facilitate investments.
• NITI Aayog and DRC agreed to undertake joint research in the areas of WTO reforms, urbanization and frontier technologies, with a view to enhancing economic cooperation between the countries.

The 1^st NITI Aayog-DRC Dialogue was held in Beijing on 23-24 November 2015 co-chaired by Arvind Panagariya, then Vice Chairman NITI Aayog and Mr Li Wei, President (Minister), DRC, with the aim of taking a step towards closer economic ties with China and to deliberate on macro-economic issues, in compliance of the Memorandum of Understanding between NITI Aayog of the Government of India and the Development Research Centre (DRC), State Council of the People’s Republic of China was signed during the visit of Prime Minister of India to China in May 2015.

The 2^nd NITI Aayog-DRC Dialogue was held on 16-17 November 2016 in New Delhi.

The 3rd NITI Aayog-DRC Dialogue was held at DRC in Beijing on 5 December 2017, which focused on “The Global Economic Situation and Sino-Indian Economic Cooperation” and “Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development”.

The 5^th edition of the NITI – DRC Dialogue will be held in Wuhan, China in November, 2019.