China’s Mumbai consul general calls for restoring ‘Hindi-Chini bhai bhai’ spirit and easing trade curbs

Nagpur: Consul General of China for Mumbai region, Qin Jie, points to the line — ‘Chini-Hindi Bhayi Bhayi' — embossed on his business card. "I was later told that it is spelt ‘Bhai'. I will get it corrected. Both nations should restore trust. At least, business ties can return to pre-Covid levels," he said, subtly referring to Press Note 3 — an Indian govt policy amendment that mandates govt approval for all foreign direct investments from countries sharing a border with India, like China, to prevent opportunistic takeovers.

"Any conflict between us is just colonial baggage. Of course, there have been recent reports that Press Note 3 would be eased, and China hopes it will happen soon," he said. TOI caught up with him at the sidelines of Advantage Vidarbha Khasdar Audyogic Mahotsav here.


China is also hoping for faster visa processing for better people-to-people interaction. "There needs to be more visits by artists, intellectuals, and thinkers between the two countries to bring us closer. A manganese mining company in Nagpur has collaborated with a Chinese firm to execute a project. It has 70 Chinese workers and a similar number of Indians. They go in teams, understand machines and work together. It is a perfect example of ‘Chini-Hindi Bhai Bhai' that we want to spread," said Qin Jie. He was referring to the Chinese company, China Coal No3, executing a project with Nagpur-based public sector undertaking, Manganese Ore India Limited (MOIL). Jie visited the company's sites last month.


"We look forward to anointing Jinan as a sister city for Nagpur. The concept of sister cities came up after the visit of Chinese President Xi Ping in 2014. The matches were made on the basis of similarities, like Shanghai is the sister city for Mumbai. Like Nagpur, Jinan too is landlocked. The idea is to foster ties with cultural exchanges between the two cities," he said, adding even Indian corporates have a presence in China and there's scope for cooperation in a whole gamut of sectors. To a query on the US-India tariff deal, Jie said he preferred to talk only about Indo-Chinese cooperation. "There needs to be more cooperation in business and cultural fronts. That is what China is looking forward to at the coming BRICS summit that will be held in India," he said.