India looks to woo Chinese MNCs

Wednesday 28th September 2016 06:05 EDT
 

In a bid to attract Chinese MNCs from the electrical and electronic manufacturing and textiles sectors to set up plants in the country, India will showcase itself as an appealing investment destination with cheap labour and invite Chinese firms at the India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue scheduled early next month.

Proposing to rejig the dialogue, Niti Aayog will now reflect on the priorities of the NDA government. Focus of the discussions will now lay on railways and roads, solar energy, coal gasification, urbanisation, domestic electronic manufacturing, and new policy initiatives like coastal employment zones. Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog, Arvind Panagriya said, "Labour wages are 2-3 times lower in India in comparison to China. We would want Chinese MNCs in areas like electrical and electronics and textiles to migrate to India to take advantage." He said that as Chinese firms were shifting bases to other countries to be more cost effective, India should showcase itself as an attractive investment destination.

This would also help create more employment in the country as well as increase India's exports as these companies also have market links abroad, he added. Panagariya said India would look to take advantage of China's expertise in smart cities, redevelopment of railway stations and setting up coastal economic zones. A Chinese delegation of 220 businessmen and government officials will participate in the two-day economic meet on October 6-7, to be hosted by Niti Aayog. For the first time, the government's think tank plans to bring on board states which have received considerable amount of foreign direct investment from China and are located on the coasts where potential coastal employment zones can come up.


comments powered by Disqus



to the free, weekly Asian Voice email newsletter