Calcutta, Aug. 6: Chinese equipment manufacturers in the petroleum and petrochemicals sectors are looking at the Indian market, which has grown 7 per cent year-on-year.

The China Promotion and Petro-chemical Equipment Industry Association (CPEIA) is facilitating trade in these two sectors with India.

Talking to The Telegraph, CPEIA vice-president and secretary-general Zhao Zhiming said the Chinese equipment manufacturers are already in talks with a number of Indian firms.

“I expect good business opportunities to emerge in the near future,” he said.

Zhiming, who is also the president of China Cooperation Network, said many Indian companies have shown interest in importing Chinese equipment for exploration work as well as for the petrochem plants.

“We have a membership strength of over 750 companies and many of them are keen to have a business tie-up with Indian counterparts,” he said.

Currently, equipment supply from China is at a negligible stage as Indian companies do not have adequate knowledge about Chinese technology. But CPEIA plans to bridge the knowledge gap, especially in oil and petrochemicals.

The drilling machine, for instance, is almost equal to the ones available in Europe and America as it is based on the US technology.

But the Chinese price is much cheaper than that offered by other countries.

Zhiming said about 10 years back, Chinese companies had a considerably good business with their Indian counterparts. Everyone has to work towards bringing back the same business environment, he said.

All the Chinese equipment are of API grade, ensuring a superior quality, he added.

The association may also come up with offices in India at a later stage to firm up more trading contracts for its members.

The association, established in 1985, may also look into the prospects of Chinese equipment manufacturers planning joint ventures in India. The oilfield equipment include exploration products as well as those for desert drilling and oil producing.