The bilateral trade volume between China and India is expected to exceed US$10 billion by the end of 2004, compared with last year's US$5 billion.

Such robust business figures are to underline more economic interaction, especially in the manufacturing sector, that is expected to take place between China and India in the coming years.

These forecasts were made yesterday by a number of prominent figures from India's industrial circles and business consultants during the ongoing India Week, the first-ever of its kind, which is expected to further boost Sino-Indian exchanges and co-operation in various domains.

"Now it's the perfect time to tie our strengths together to push forward both countries' economies," said Sunil Kant Munjal, vice-president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India's most important industrial association with over 4,800 direct corporate members.

Indian companies are "very keen" to look at China both as a supply source of goods and a huge potential market, and Chinese companies share that interest, said Munjal.

CII has organized top officials of a slew of Indian businesses from various sectors, including steel, auto components, engineering, chemicals and information technology, to attend India Week activities.

However, companies from both countries may have to take some time to get used to respective Chinese or Indian business environments and systems before they can smoothly carry out their operations, according to Munjal.

The trend of more business collaboration and interaction between China and India will be inevitable in the coming years, said a spokesman from E.J. McKay & Co Inc, which is a business advisory service provider and claims to be handling up to 70 percent of investment projects between China and India.

Currently there are about 50 Indian companies operating in China, involving a total investment of around US$300 million.

(China Daily October 16, 2003)