Business leaders from India and China today held one-to-one meetings in order to double trade with each other to $40 billion by 2010 from the present $ 20 billion.

“We had good exploratory talks today,” said a Confederation of Indian Industry official after a meeting with the Chinese trade team. “While China is interested in the Indian software sector, the Indian companies are looking at pharmaceutical, and biotech sectors,” he added. Apart from industrialists, government officials from Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal made presentations to woo investments.

A 160-strong business delegation from China is camping in Mumbai seeking joint ventures and other business opportunities with Indian counterparts. The delegation has accompanied Chinese President Hu Jintao who is currently in India on a 4-day visit.

Wan Jifei, chairman, China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) gave the example of IT, China being strong in hardware and India having obvious software skills. “We should combine our respective strengths and work together,” he said.

Jintao would address the leaders of India Inc tomorrow in Mumbai seeking more investment into his country. Many Indian corporates are eyeing the huge Chinese market for their product and services.

The Indian government needs to improve its infrastructure, reduce taxes, and accelerate labour reforms and technical skill development in order to take on the rising competition from China, industry leaders said.

Ramesh Mangaleshwaram, partner, McKinsey & Co said China had grown faster than India, and said this underscored the importance of Indian manufacturing sector as a factor of economic growth. “High domestic demand in China lead to growth in manufacturing, and this played a major role in its GDP growth,” he said.

“India is on the threshold of a manufacturing outsource boom, and this, coupled with a rise in domestic demand can boost economic growth. India can be competitive globally in skill-intensive manufacturing activities,” he said.

“There are complimentary skills. China, with a growing domestic market, is good at manufacturing in high volume, India is good on skill sets,” said he. “India has for strengths beyond low wages like superior engineering skills, increased domestic demand, availability of key raw materials and an emerging supply base,” he added.

Addressing the gathering, chairman of Tata International, Syamal Gupta Member, said mismatch in India and China in terms of population as also land mass on one side and global wealth on the other, has high potential.

The Chinese team is optimistic about further improvement in business ties. “Since 2003, CII organised four ‘Made in India’ shows in China,” Wan said. In September this year, the CII chairman had led a CEO delegation to China and attended a CII-CCPIT business summit. “In a short period, CCPIT had brought their CEO delegation to India. This sort of business ties were akin to relatives visiting each other,” he said and hoped friendly relationships would lead to good and intense business ties.