Not $100 bn, only $20 bn: Key deals between China and India on Xi Jinping's visit

The expectation of a $100-billion Chinese investment in India got dashedas the country committed itself to investing only $20 billion over five years.Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Thursday to invest $20 billion in India and give its companies greater access to key Chinese markets following talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

The world’s two most populous nations used the summit to sign agreements to boost their commercial and trade ties, even as a dispute over their shared border overshadowed Xi’s three-day visit to India that ends on Friday.

Here are some of the key announcements:

China will set up two industrial parks in India: one for power equipment in Modi’s home state of Gujarat and another for automotive parts in the western Maharashtra state. New investments from China could help India reduce its trade deficit.

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India and China signed a five-year plan to promote trade relations. China said it will give greater market access to Indian companies and products, especially in the pharmaceutical, farming and fuel industries.

The Export Import Bank of China signed an agreement with the State Bank of India, India’s largest lender, to extend a $1.8 billion line of credit for projects including those importing Chinese products. A similar agreement was signed with India’s ICICI Bank for $1 billion.

Both developing countries decided to work together to steer regional cooperation and advance their efforts to build the BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar) economic corridor.

China will support India in reforming its crumbling railways by helping it improve the speed of trains. Redevelopment of railway stations and collaboration on high-speed trains will also be explored.

Indian private lender Axis Bank signed an agreement with China Development Bank to help Chinese companies with their requirements in India.

On Wednesday, business leaders from the two countries signed deals worth $3.43 billion in New Delhi. The biggest was a $2.6 billion deal between Indian budget airline IndiGo and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd for the financing of more than 30 new aircraft.

Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp and India’s Reliance Communications signed a deal worth $162 million.

Reliance Communications, India’s fourth-largest mobile operator by customers, also signed a $157 million agreement with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.

More than 20 other smaller deals totalling some $500 million were signed between Chinese and Indian firms. These companies signed agreements for an array of products including peanut oil, cotton and even seafood.

The Chinese city of Guangzhou and Indian city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state signed an agreement for closer cooperation in fields such as environment and health. India also signed an agreement to promote better ties between Gujarat and Guangdong, China’s richest and most liberal province.

A Gujarat government agency and the China Development Bank entered into a pact to assist Chinese investors in creating better infrastructure for industrial parks in India, as well as helping the investors obtain necessary clearances.

According to a Hindustan Times report, the mismatch in the expected investment and the real shows thatBeijing is short term about India. The HT report notes that this underlines China’s attitude towards India. “Over 80% of Indians mistrust China: an older generation because of 1962, a younger one because of Beijing’s belligerence,” it noted.