Kolkata and Guangzhou sister cities
December 14th, 2007 - by Nazia Vasi
In a recent development to strengthening bi-lateral ties in the region, the Indian government has set up a consulate general office in Guangzhou, South China. In a reciprocal measure, the Chinese government started a consulate general office in Kolkata, in East India. Both consulates have a visa, consular affairs, commerce and cultural affairs section, even as they’ve vowed to commit themselves to simplifying visa application procedures.
Both India and China are also in talks to open direct flights from Guangzhou to Kolkata in the recent future. The move comes at a time when the governments are thawing hostilities since their cold war in 1962, when Chinese and Indian consulate generals did exist in both Kolkata and Guangzhou.
The move comes at a time when India China trade is heating up. The two major port cities both have a prime role to play in India-China trade. With sea routes having taken the place of the ancient silk route, both Kolkata and Guangzhou as big, bustling port cities have a significant role to play in changing trade dynamics in the region.
While Sino-Indian balance-of-trade was nearly 50:50 some years ago, China now exports more than it imports from India. While major items of Chinese exports to India include coking coal, electronic goods and specialised machinery, China primarily imports iron ore from India, said China’s consul general Mao Siwei.
Here’s a brief snapshot of the two cities:
Kolkata: 
Victoria Monument in Kolkata.
Kolkata, India’s city of Joy or formally Calcutta, is situated in the Eastern state of West Bengal. 180 kilometers from the Bay of Bengal, on the Eastern banks of the river Ganges. While the throbbing city is famed for nurturing intellectuals such as Subhas Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore, today its famed for its sweets and cricket legend Saurav Ganguly. Kolkata has a population of approximately 5 million residing within 1,480 square kilometres within the city limits in 2004. It is the 7th largest city in India. A communication hub, rich in natural resources - iron ore and steel, Kolkata is well connected by air, road, railway and sea to all major international ports.
Guangzhou: 
Guangzhou’s Tv tower.
Guangzhou located in South China, very close to Hong kong, it is China’s Chinese-foreign city. Strategically situated at the confluence of China’s East river, West river and North river, the city has a population of 6 million in 2004. Covering an area of 7434 square kilometres it contributed 9% to China’s total GDP in 2005, it remains one of the largest industrial hubs in southern China. Guangzhou’s pillar industries include the petrochemical industry, automobile industry and electronics and telecommunication equipment industry. Well networked to international cities by road, rail, air and ship, Guangzhou like Kolkata is rich in natural resources - coal, salt, copper, iron, zinc, lead and limestone.
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December 15th, 2007 at 6:38 am
Ironically, Indian government has just “denied permission for China’s cargo carrier Great Wall Airlines to land in Mumbai or Chennai since the two Indian cities have “key nuclear facilities” which Chinese aeroplanes might reconnoiter. ”
December 15th, 2007 at 11:42 am
That’ll be sorted out when Dr. Mahmohan Singh, the Indian PM, meets with Hu Jintao in Beijing next month. It’s a political issue from the initial problems with Air India being denied access to Beijing and Shanghai, so I wouldn’t read too much into it. But the move to re-integrate South China as part of S/E Asia is moving ahead, and a lot of Indian investments are being made in Guangdong (and elsewhere) due to the relatively short flight times (5-6 hours) and lack of Indian manufacturing capacity. Some Chinese factories are also relocated (mainly to Chennai) due to VAT rebate issues in the PRC: India’s tax regime is now more attractive than China’s. I heard the Guangzhou-Kolkotta flights begin from April as does Guangzhou-Chennai. Kolkotta already has direct flights to Kunming.
More on South China / East India links here: http://www.2point6billion.com/2007/12/03/india-%e2%80%93-china-developing-cross-border-trade-links/
http://www.2point6billion.com/2007/10/31/lao%e2%80%99s-delighted-to-see-india-and-china-strengthening-relations/
http://www.2point6billion.com/2007/10/15/will-hk-remain-the-connector-between-india-and-china-for-long-or-will-it-carve-out-its-own-niche/
December 18th, 2007 at 7:22 am
“It’s a political issue from the initial problems with Air India being denied access to Beijing and Shanghai, so I wouldn’t read too much into it. ”
Really? Can you elaborate on what happened? What was believed to be the rationale behind such a move? “Security reasons”? I find this very hard to believe. Indian denials of entry to Great Wall Airlines on the other hand are more in line with the experiences of some Chinese firms (Huawei, ZTE etc.) as it was reported that many Chinese investors have been shut out of India citing “security concerns”.
December 18th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
The Indians view Chinese with suspicion is not only due to China’s strength which they have achieved with hard work but also the attitude of chinese who just will not MINGLE. Their feeling of Middle kingdom and the view about others as barbarians and dirty(which we Indians are), may be another reason. We Indians are much more selfish due to our capitalist traditions but Chinese must show the spirit of huang psuang, Fa hien who crossed the Himalayas to study at nalanda 1000 year back and MINGLE
December 18th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Its true politically both countries view eachother with suspicion and difference, but the world is getting flatter, people are mingling, politicians in both India and China realise that they will have to co-operate in order to grow their economies. Its only a matter of time until India & China mature as a matter of symbiosis.
December 19th, 2007 at 6:17 am
Capitan Johann,
That’s an overly-simplistic generalization. Chinese will not mingle? If you are talking about older generations of overseas Chinese, probably yes as they tended to stick together (hence the formations of “Chinatowns”); but newer generations of Chinese immigrants are not like that anymore. As for the so-called Chinese attitude that regards foreigners as barbarians, again I think it might be true couple of hundred years ago, but certainly not true today.
A lot of people talk about “mutual suspicion” between India and China, I think it is more on the part of India and less on the part of China. You can’t blame India, after all China has been the all-weather friend of India’s arch-rival, Pakistan for decades. China, even though increasingly suspecting that India is being enlisted by the US to encircle and contain China, is wary of India as much as it is of the US and Japan.
December 19th, 2007 at 6:18 am
Correction: last sentence should have been “China… isn’t wary of India as much as it is of the US and Japan”.
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