The Indian Chamber of Com-merce Hong Kong, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, continues to nurture the trading tradition. Over the past five decades, the chamber has played a pivotal role in Hong Kong's economic fortunes, while also being a conduit for Sino-Indian trade.

Like the early pioneers who sailed in clippers to various trading ports in search of commodities, today's entrepreneurs are navigating the seas of commerce in search of business ventures.

Last year, Raj Sital, chairman of the Indian chamber, headed a delegation to Xiamen on the invitation of the Xiamen sub-council of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). Xia-men, in southern Fujian, was once a Treaty Port, then known as Amoy.

The meeting, which included talks with senior municipal officials, opened avenues for partnership. A few months later, the chamber participated in the China Fair for International Investment and Trade. It was a first for the chamber.

Similar opportunities for provincial linkages opened up later. The CCPIT's Guangzhou sub-council invited the chamber to its 10th anniversary celebrations. On that occasion the chamber signed a memorandum of understanding with the council.

As the year drew to a close, a delegation led by Fuzhou city vice-mayor Liu Yongzhao, visited the chamber and explained the investment policies of Fujian.

These activities over the past year alone reflect the deepening bonds between the chamber and organisations in China, and in a broader context, indicate how it continues to facilitate a stronger Sino-Indian economic partnership.

'We want to further develop this relationship,' says Mr Sital, adding that while the chamber marks a milestone in its history this year, so does the CCPIT, which also celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Mr Sital foresees fruitful partnerships developing through small firms, noting that the chamber is 'encouraging more interaction' between Indian and Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises.

'We intend to arrange visits of business delegations from India with the collaboration of organisations there to help them market their products and services in China.

'We also want to assist the Chinese market their goods in India. We have been helping Chinese delegations to establish contact with representatives of various states in India.'

Secretary-general Santha Ram says the chamber is preparing for a visit to India by a delegation from Xiamen. 'We are helping to set the agenda for meetings in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.'

Other initiatives are also being planned.

'We want to build on the foundation we have laid,' Mr Sital says, adding that various programmes will help build commercial bridges between India and China. 'This year, in collaboration with the India Trade Promotion Organisation, we plan to host a roadshow to help Indian companies market their products and services in Hong Kong and southern China.'

Links with China are also being cemented through representation.

'The chamber is opening a representative office in Beijing, and later in Guangzhou, where a substantial number of our members have set up subsidiaries,' Mr Sital says.

Collaborating with official and non-official organisations in China is an extension of business.

'The majority of our members are involved in the export of commodities from China. Nearly 90 per cent of Chinese products exported to Nigeria, for example, are handled by Indians.'

Chamber committee member Santhanam Krishnamachary says these traders are 'involved in buying and sourcing, in addition to exporting'.

Over the past couple of years, the chamber has been building a meaningful relationship with the CCPIT. 'We have close links with the council,' Mr Ram says, adding that the first high-level contact was made in 1999, when M. Arunachalam, the chairman that year, led a seven-member delegation to Beijing, and participated in a one-day seminar on China trade, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (Moftec) and India's embassy in Beijing.

During the visit, the delegation called on An Min, assistant minister at Moftec. Mr An urged the chamber to pay special attention to promoting Sino-Indian trade.

Bilateral trade, meanwhile, has been increasing at double-digit rates. But government officials and businessmen believe the full potential has yet to be tapped. In 2000-01, Sino-Indian trade was worth US$2.2 billion, with imports from China amounting to US$1.4 billion and exports valued at US$829 million.

When he visited India last month, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji observed that 'there is common ground and vast potential for co-operation'. Mr Zhu became the first Chinese Prime Minister to set foot in India in 11 years.

The visit gave new momentum to Sino-Indian economic and trade co-operation. Underlining the potential for further bilateral co-operation, the premier urged businessmen to seek out the riches in each other's countries.

'We sincerely hope that friends from the Indian business community will explore business opportunities in China. At the same time, we will continue to encourage Chinese enterprises to invest and set up factories in India,' Premier Zhu told business people at a luncheon in Mumbai.

Co-operation in science and technology was a focus during Mr Zhu's mission. Visiting Infosys Technologies, he urged that India and China work together to promote each other in information technology. He also approved, on-site, a proposal by Infosys, to open a branch in Shanghai.

Collaborative ventures already exist in the training of IT professionals. A couple of years ago, the National Institute of Information Technology and Tianda Tiancai Co set up the NIIT-Tianda Tiancai IT Co, in Tianjin, to train 3,000 professionals every year.

Software-maker ZenSar Techno-logies of Mumbai and Han Interna-tional Consulting Co, a Hong Kong-based firm that counts Chinese state firms among its clients, went into partnership to sell and develop software for the Chinese market. This is the type of collaboration the chamber wants to further promote, Mr Sital says.

The potential for partnerships in all areas is vast considering the friendship of the two countries.

Political ties go back more than 50 years to 1949, when India became one of the first socialist states to recognise the People's Republic. Cultural and religious exchanges go back even further.

Bilateral ties hit a bad patch in the 1960s but were restored to normal during a 1979 visit to China by the then External Affairs Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The 1988 visit of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi brought the nations closer. Similarly, President Jiang Zemin's visit to India in 1996 was a first by a Chinese head of state. In 2000, India's President Kocheril Raman Narayanan's trip to China further helped to elevate relations.

From a business point of view, the Indian connection with China runs deep.University of Hong Kong Professor K. N. Vaid, author of the study The Overseas Indian Community In Hong Kong (1972), points out that 'cultural and commercial relations between India and China existed long before the Europeans appeared on the eastern horizon, and Indians were trading with China long before Hong Kong became an important port.'

While the pioneers paved a path to China, for the modern-day entrepreneurs, the chamber continues to provide a roadmap to seek new opportunities arising out of an economic revolution in the world's most populous nation.

Through various initiatives and as the voice of Indian business in the SAR, the chamber hopes to create greater economic opportunities for Hong Kong, India and China in the decades to come.

Celebrations

6.30pm Cocktails

7pm Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa launches the chamber's new logo and proposes a toast

7.30pm Mr Tung leaves

7.50pm Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen arrives

8pm Dinner

Cultural programmes

Indian classical dance Jathiswaram by Uma Arunachalam and Uma Sowma Hariswamy; Indian folk dance Bangra by Punjab Youth Club; Indian modern fusion dance by Diya Sen and Richa Sengupta