New Delhi: The Chinese and Indian economies are highly complementary and have great potential for bilateral trade and investment relations, with trade worth $40 billion between the two countries being reached two years ahead of target, Zheng Xinli, deputy chief of the Policy Research Office, central committee of the Communist Party of China has said. 

Zheng was speaking at a conference on 'The Chinese economy and society in transition: policies, prospects and challenges', organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Institute of Chinese Studies. 

One of the architects of policy directions taken in China, Zheng was present at the conference along with Zhang Yan, ambassador of the People's Republic of China to India, Dr Patricia Uberoi, director, Institute of Chinese Studies, and Dr Lu Wei.

Speaking at length about the economic and social changes in China over the last 25 years, Zheng asserted that China was on an economic path where it aimed to "quadruple the per-capita GDP of the year 2000 by 2020." 

Since 1978, China's GDP had fluctuated for the first 25 years, but has witnessed steady growth since 2000.  While per capita GDP was a mere US$250 in 1978, in 2007, it had increased to US$2500. 

China's priority, Zheng said, was development 'for the people, by the people and with the people sharing its fruits." He also emphasised the importance of sustainable development.

Zheng mentioned that India and China had common challenges in agriculture, rural industry and social security. China, he said, could learn from India in the services sector, and the slowing down of the US economy provides opportunities for both countries to sustain economic growth through increase in demand and consumption.

Zhang Yan, China's ambassador to India, spoke of the shared vision signed by the prime ministers of China and India recently during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to China. He said, "Learning from each other and through strategic cooperation, China and India will walk shoulder to shoulder to make the 'Asian Century' and the hope of a more harmonious world would come true."