China’s Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, called the recent meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “a new starting point” in bilateral relations.

Speaking on Oct 30 at a forum organized by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry, or MCCI, in Kolkata, the capital of India’s eastern state of West Bengal, the envoy said both the leaders reached important common understandings on improving and developing Sino-Indian relations and have set the course to steer bilateral ties back on the path of steady development.

The Oct 23 dialogue, which was the first formal meeting between two leaders in five years, was constructive and carries great significance, Xu said.

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The meeting between Modi and Xi was held on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit at Kazan in Russia.

“Standing at a new starting point, China-India relations are facing new development opportunities,” Ambassador Xu said, adding that he is looking forward to jointly taking China-India relations to a new height.

The envoy highlighted China’s enormous market and said “high-quality” Indian products would have broad business opportunities in China. He urged Indian businesses to step up engagement with China.

Assuring more market access, Xu said China is welcoming Indian companies to participate in Chinese upstream and downstream supply chain. “Indian companies can enhance ‘Made in India’ by investing in China,” he said, referring to India’s efforts to boost its manufacturing sector.

As neighbors and major developing countries, the two sides should have strong economic links, Xu said, calling for closer commercial, business cooperation and communication ties.

For the two large countries, relaxing visa restrictions and restarting direct flights will have great significance. “It will enhance people-to-people exchanges and bring the relationship between the two nations back to sound and steady development at an early date,” the envoy said.

The Chinese embassy and consulates in India have issued over 240,000 visas this year, 80 percent of which were business visas. This shows the vitality of economic and trade exchanges between the two countries, Xu said.

China has become India's largest trading partner, and bilateral trade has exceeded $100 billion for many years. India's exports to China have grown steadily, and export products like fish and shrimp from Kolkata to China have increased by nearly 70 percent in the past three years.

Chinese companies in Kolkata have been involved in various sectors and activities, including shrimp feed, coach production and hospitality, making important contributions to local development and exports, the envoy said.

Xu advocated for clearing the path for more Chinese companies to do business in India.

The Chinese side, he said, has always encouraged bilateral commercial cooperation and “we hope both sides can work together to lay down more beneficial policies and implement less restrictive measures to lift bilateral economic and trade cooperation between China and India to a new height”.

“Facts show that China-India commercial exchanges are inseparable. Indian media reported that some electronic, chemical and renewable energy products still need to be imported from China. Imposing tariffs and restrictions on Chinese products is not conducive to the development of downstream industries and the interests of consumers in India,” Xu said, adding that Indian companies also “need highly skilled workers from China to install equipment and carry out repairs”.

The envoy mentioned a suggestion made by India’s chief economic adviser earlier this year, in the government’s economic survey report, for facilitating more investment from China.

“We would like to work with India to help each other succeed, achieve common development and revitalization, promote the unity and cooperation of the Global South, and join hands to build a community with a shared future for mankind,” Xu said.

“China welcomes more Indian companies to make full use of platforms such as the China International Import Expo to help more Indian high-quality products to be exported to China and share China's development dividends,” he said.

Dwelling on business cooperation between the two countries, envoy said Indian companies can enhance “Make in India” by “investing in China”. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which was held in July, proposed that all restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing industry be removed comprehensively, and foreign companies are encouraged to participate in the Chinese upstream and downstream supply chains, Xu pointed out.

In China's enormous market, high-quality Indian products will have broad business opportunities in China, the envoy said. In the last fiscal year, some products that the Indian industry promoted achieved huge growth in exports in China, Xu said, mentioning pepper, iron ore and cotton yarn, which saw more than 17 percent, 160 percent, and 240 percent expansion in exports to China, respectively.

Highlighting the complementary structures, he said, India has a competitive edge in IT, software and biomedicine while China is seeing rapid expansion in electronic manufacturing and emerging industries.

India is in a major drive to improve infrastructure, an area where China has rich experience. Companies of both countries, if connected, will produce an effect of 1+1=11, Xu said.

At its peak, annual two-way visits by Chinese and Indian people exceeded one million per year. “In 2024, the number of Chinese outbound tourists is expected to reach 130 million. India should not miss this opportunity,” the ambassador said.

Praising Indian films for their huge popularity in China, Xu said China and India can strengthen cooperation in the movie industry, and that films can promote mutual understanding between the two peoples.

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“During my visit to Mumbai last month, I passed many Bollywood filming locations such as Bandra Fort and ‘Queen's Necklace’. The well-developed film industry in India left a deep impression on me. Indian films, including "Dangal" (or Wrestling Competition), and “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” are very popular in China,” Xu said.

Kolkata has the earliest and largest Chinese settlement in India. For over two centuries, the Chinese in Kolkata have gone through ups and downs and continued striving for improvement. They have made great contributions to local economy and social development, and promoted cultural exchanges between China and India, Xu said, adding that traditional Chinese architecture has become an important manifestation of Kolkata's cultural diversity.

The envoy said that Kolkata has been witness to the friendship between the two countries, showing that China-India friendly exchanges transcend regions and time.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.