Economic cooperation between India and China is powering ahead, with upbeat projections anchored on record trade flows between the neighbors last year.
Zha Liyou, China's consul general in the eastern city of Kolkata pointed to the friendly ties between the peoples on both sides of the border, especially with the bonds between Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan province, and Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal.
With the efforts of both sides, comprehensive development should be achieved, said the diplomat, who hopes Kolkata will become East India's gateway for business with China.
Bilateral trade hit an all-time high of more than $125 billion in 2021, according to data from China's General Administration of Customs. China is India's biggest trade partner.
The momentum was sustained in the first quarter of 2022 when the trade value reached $31.96 billion, a jump of 15.3 percent from the same period last year.
"This data sufficiently demonstrates that the strong demand for Sino-Indian economic cooperation is an irreversible fact and serves as the solid foundation for the development of mutually beneficial coordination," Zha said at a reception to celebrate the success of the 2022 West Bengal Global Business Summit and welcome the visiting Chinese business delegation.
