Click to play videoNew Delhi: It is the India-China year of friendship and both sides trying to improve relations by opening the Nathu-La pass for trade, organising high profile visits and cultural events.
Exchange, they say, is the key. But scratch the surface and a different picture emerges.
About 4,00,000 Indians visit China every year but the number of Chinese coming to India is not more than 2,00,000. Half of these are Chinese businessmen, who say that getting a visa is only the smaller of their worries.
"Our trading licence applications are turned down citing security reasons. Some of the applications are purely civil projects," says Chinese Ambassador, Sun Yuxi.
"We don't understand what kind of security reasons are these...We want equal treatment. If you allow other countries, we too should have the right for international bidding," he adds.
So, problems galore for Chinese businessmen. But what's keeping the tourists away? "Infrastructure, which include hotels, roads and transport services, is not good in India," says Yuxi. Straight talk there from the Chinese ambassador.
But clearly there's room for improvement. Both sides are now giving the final touches to what they hope will be a landmark visit by President Hu Jintao in November.
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