Chinese firms eye big potential in India

Overall, the Chinese companies haven't been scared away, with newcomers constantly coming in. Chindia Chamber's Li said that Internet and food-processing companies are the latest Chinese companies that have set foot in India.

One such Chinese Internet company is UC Web, which mainly develops Internet browsers for smartphones. It launched its India office in 2011, and two years later it has 40 million Indian users and a 25 percent market share in the local browser market.

In a glamorous office building in Gurgaon, UC Web's general manager in India, Ye Zhicong, envisages the company's bright future in India.

"India's smartphone market is about two years behind China, and our experience in China is perfectly applicable here in India," Ye said.

UC Web now has three executives who were sent in from China plus eight local Indian employees in a small office about 100 square meters. But it's just a start. Ye expects UC Web to soon top the local market and will be in much a bigger office as it brings in more employees.

Liu Jiaoyue is one of the three UC Web executives in India in charge of local business development. A 27-year-old from Heilongjiang province, Liu said she had really taken a shine to India.

She now can speak some Hindi and made yoga her weekly routine, which she says really "bring peace to my mind". She also describes herself as a Buddhist and is more familiar with Indian history than the average Indian. She said she likes India because there are many similarities between Chinese and Indian culture.

"I don't see why two cultures as similar as China and India can't patch things up and become good friends," Liu said.