China, India to expedite talks on industrial zones

BEIJING -- China and India agreed to expedite talks on establishment of industrial zones, according to a joint statement issued here Wednesday.

The industrial zones aims to provide platforms of cluster type development for enterprises of the two countries, according to the joint statement, issued on the sidelines of talks between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his visiting Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh.

The statement, also named A Vision for Future Development of China-India Strategic and Cooperative Partnership, said the two leaders recognized that China and India are poised to enter a new stage of economic engagement based on pragmatic cooperation and mutually advantageous policies and practices.

The leaders expected the Strategic Economic Dialogue scheduled for November/December 2013 to work out specific projects and initiatives in areas that have already been broadly agreed upon, said the joint statement.

"The Joint Economic Group will continue to expand the bilateral economic cooperation and promote a balanced growth of bilateral trade. Its Working Groups will expeditiously discharge the mandate given to them in pursuit of those objectives," the statement noted.

The two sides agreed to look into the prospects of a bilateral Regional Trade Arrangement (RTA). They will also review the state of the negotiation on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), according to the statement.