Ahead of Prime Minster Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping's second 'informal summit' in Chennai, 129 Memorandum of understanding (MoUs) were signed between the Indian and Chinese companies. The MoUs were signed for sectors like - agri-related products, minerals, textiles, food-processing, yarns, minerals etc.

Highlighting China and India's close ties, Chinese representatives said that the relationship between the two countries was as eternal as the Ganga river.

Currently, both the countries are focussing on trade and India is China's largest trading partner in South Asia and the Indian companies are expanding in the Chinese market with a cumulative investment of nearly $1 billion.

See photos of PM Modi and Xi Xinping here

Representatives of both the countries reiterated that Chinese investment in India and the Indian investment in China has grown many folds in the past few decades with the Chinese players like Xiaomi, Oppo becoming household names in India.

Economic and trade cooperation

Speaking at the India-China Business Meeting and Signing Ceremony, organised by the FICCI, ZHU Xiaohong, Counselor, Embassy of People's Republic of China said, "With a combined market of over 2.7 billion people and GDP of 20 per cent of the world's total, China and India enjoy huge potential and broad prospects for economic and trade cooperation."

ZHU Xiaohong added that from the current $75 billion trade, both the countries are looking at moving towards trade worth $100 billion.

Investments

Speaking about increased Chinese investment in India, LIU Changyu, Deputy Director General, Foreign Trade Department of Ministry of Commerce, PR China said that mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries is also deepening.

Chinese enterprises have responded positively to the strategy of 'Make in India' and 'Digital India' and their investment in India has exceeded $8 billion.

"In the next 15 years, China will import $30 trillion of goods and $100 billion of services from the world. As the only two major developing countries with a population of more than 1 billion in the world, China and India are focusing on development," LIU Changyu said.