Tuesday, September 5 2006 17:56 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Beijing: China and India should step up efforts to enhance 'mutual understanding' so that Chinese companies which are eagerly seeking investment opportunities in India are treated on par with other foreign companies, a senior Chinese trade promotion official said here.

"To improve understanding is one of the most important activities the two sides need to take to push forward their growing bilateral trade and economic activities," Secretary General of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Wang Jinzhen told sources here.

"Although there have been more and more exchanges of visits between the two countries and the business communities, mutual understanding is still not enough," Wang said while pointing out that Chinese telecom companies like Huawei and other infrastructure builders were not getting equal treatment in India compared to other foreign companies competing for the same projects.

"If a particular sector is open to the international investors, it should also be open to Chinese companies," he stressed ahead of the fourth edition of the 'Made in India' show jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Indian Embassy here this week.

"If a sector is not open to foreign players, the Chinese side will not spend money, people and time to try and win the project," he said.