Chinese firms eye big potential in India

Despite lingering border disputes between China and India, their economic and trade ties have been improving. Bilateral trade was $66 billion in 2012 and is expected to reach $100 billion by 2015.

At the second BRICS summit, in New Delhi, India, China encouraged imports from India to balance the trade deficit. And then-Chinese president Hu Jintao told Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that "it is China's unswerving policy to develop Sino-Indian friendship, deepen strategic cooperation and seek common development."

Chinese business leaders in India are hoping that Premier Li Keqiang's recent visit to the country will further boost the Sino-Indian relationship and create a friendlier business environment for Chinese companies, especially in visa applications.

Madhav Nalapat, an Indian scholar on geopolitics who influences Indian policies on the highest levels, feels that China's new leadership is committed to improving relations with India.

In an e-mail to China Daily, Nalapat said that the two countries will strive to settle border issues, and the outlook is therefore optimistic.

"My view is that India-China commercial relations will top $300 billion annually before five years," he said.

Li Jian, secretary-general of the New Delhi-based Chindia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which represents over 110 Chinese companies in India, said that not all Chinese companies are now doing very well in India at the moment, but many of them have decided to hold on because of India's huge growth potential.

"They have encountered a lot of problems, but most of them won't go back home easily because they believe things will get a lot better along with Indian development," Li said.