Embassy of India
Beijing
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Press Release

The Fourth India-China Think-Tanks Forum - Beijing, 28-29 November 2019

1.      The Fourth India-China Think-Tanks Forum was held in Beijing on 28-29 November 2019. The Forum was jointly organized by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). The 15-member Indian delegation was led by Dr. T.C.A. Raghavan, Director General, ICWA and included Amb. Ashok K. Kantha, Director, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), Mr. Soumen Bagchi, Deputy Director General, ICWA, Mr. Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) as well as scholars and academics from various thinks-tanks and academic institutions of India. The Chinese delegation of scholars and academics was led by Prof. Xie Fuzhan, President of CASS.

2.      This Forum, established by a Memorandum of Understanding concluded between the Ministry of External Affairs of India and CASS during the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to China in May 2015, facilitates institutionalized regular and continued exchanges between the think-tank communities in the two countries by providing an enabling framework for a wide cross-section of think-tanks to deliberate on issues of significance and mutual interest, and to provide structured advice and recommendations to governments on both sides.

3.      Under the theme “India-China Relationship in the Asian Century”, the Forum carried out in-depth discussions on various issues including on building closer developmental partnership between India and China, development strategies and experiences in India and China as well as on communication and mutual learning between Indian and Chinese civilizations. These discussions were held in the spirit of friendship and openness and contributed to enhancing mutual understanding between the two sides. The participants were unanimous in their view that being neighbouring and rapidly developing countries, it is important for both India and China to cooperate bilaterally as well as regionally and globally, and that India-China relations is one of the key relations for emergence of an Asian Century.

4.      The inaugural session of the Forum was addressed by Dr. T.C.A. Raghavan and Dr. Acquino Vimal, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Beijing from the Indian side and Prof. Xie Fuzhan and Amb. Luo Zhaohui, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China from the Chinese side. Full texts of the opening remarks made by the Indian side are available on the Embassy’s website.

5.      Following the Forum in Beijing, the delegation is proceeding to Hangzhou and Shanghai for additional exchanges with think-tanks there and for site-visits.

6.      The Fifth India-China Think-Tanks Forum will be held in India in 2020.

29 November 2019 
Beijing