China expects co-op with more Indian companies

MUMBAI - China welcomes more Indian enterprises to cooperate with their Chinese counterparts to achieve mutually beneficial and win-win results, visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Tuesday.

Li made the remarks when touring India's industrial giant Tata Group in the financial capital of Mumbai.

Li said that the group, which opened an office in China's Shanghai over a century ago, has a special relationship with China.

The Tata Group has carried out extensive cooperation with Chinese companies in recent years, Li said, referring to the group as an epitome of the comprehensive development of China-India cooperation in trade and economy.

Li said that during his stay in India, he had reached a strategic consensus with Indian leaders and nailed down a host of pragmatic cooperative programs, which would strongly promote Tata's cooperation with China.

Chairman of Tata Cyrus Mistry said it was a great honor for the group to be a forerunner of India-China cooperation in trade and economy and the bridge for India-China friendship.

The group is willing to take advantage of the steadily developing India-China relations to further expand cooperation with China and play an active role in the development of the bilateral relationship, Mistry said.

The Chinese premier also made a video call with Tata staff, both Chinese and Indian, at the Shanghai office, saying that they are not only exploiting the Chinese market but also helping China know more about the Indian market.

This shows that China and India, two large emerging economies and markets, are connected and complementary, he added.

"As the China-India economic and trade relations develop, I am sure you will have more opportunities to exert your talents," Li told the staff.

For their part, the staff vowed to continue efforts to contribute to the friendly cooperation between China and India.

Founded in 1868, Tata is the biggest conglomerate company in India, which encompasses sectors including communications and information technology, engineering, materials and services. Its branch in China specializes in such fields as steel, cars, communication and freight.