Asian countries are building networks around China and India, the two gravity centers, said Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan at the

Eisenhower Fellowships Conference in Singapore Monday.

"Both China and India will continue to be the driving forces in Asian markets," Tan noted, saying that combined exports from China and India are estimated to rise from 12 percent of the world total in 2004 to a possible 20 percent in 2010 and 30 percent by 2030.

He attributed the rapid economic development in China to its robust exports, low cost manufacturing and huge domestic markets.

As China becomes a major trading partner and a fast growing source of tourists to many Asian countries and more and more people in the region are interested in Chinese culture and language, China's soft power is increasing, according to Tan.

He also enumerated India's key comparative advantages, which include a well trained, English speaking, cost-competitive workforce and a growing reputation as the world's back office and global software center.

"A strategic partnership between China and India could offer a countervailing influence to US preponderance in the military, economic and cultural domains," Tan observed.

Founded in 1953, the Eisenhower Fellowship has benefited some 1,600 fellows from 106 countries.

Source: Xinhua