(From right) Mao Siwei, consul-general of China in Calcutta, with P.R. Agarwala, president of Bharat Chamber of Commerce, Ashok Aikat, chairman of Bharat Chamber’s global trade sub-committee, K.B. Agarwala, managing director of Rupa & Co, and S.B. Ganguly, chairman of Exide, in Calcutta on Wednesday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

Calcutta, Nov. 21: India must simplify the visa process for Chinese workers to attract more investment from the country.

Besides, the scan on foreign direct investment from China is impeding the flow of funds, according to Mao Siwei, the consul-general of China in Calcutta.

“We get inputs from Chinese workers who have to return to China after every three to six months to renew their visas. Such steps are not agreeable if India wants more Chinese companies investing in India. We are yet to receive such complaints from Indian businessmen operating in China,” Siwei said at an interactive session organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce here today.

He said Beijing did not discriminate against Indian investments and expected the same from New Delhi. China also wants to improve the balance of trade between itself and South Asian countries.

“There is a big South Asian Countries Commodity Fair being held in Beijing from December 28 to 30, 2007. This is being done to promote and create awareness about commodities from countries of South Asia. We would urge you to have a look this year to familiarise yourself and then participate in the next,” Siwei said.

He said trade between China and India had reached $27 billion between January and September. It is expected that the figure will touch $30 billion by the end of this year. If the trend persists, the target of $40 billion of trade by the end of 2010 will be reached earlier.

Since 1997-98, Indo-China trade has registered a growth of 260 per cent, an average annual growth of around 33 per cent. Iron ore is a major export component to China, and the eastern region has one of the highest reserves of ore in the country.

“We do not see the demand for iron ore slowing down even after the Beijing Olympics. China is a big country and has the largest network of expressways after the US. It is growing and shows no signs of slowing down and would therefore need iron ore to keep with this rate of growth,” Siwei added.

China granted about 1.2 lakh visas last year, and the consulate in Calcutta, which is set to open formally by January next year, is expecting to process close to 20,000 visas by the end of 2008.