Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday expressed confidence over the enhanced Sino-Indian trade ties for mutual benefit.

Briefing newsmen on the economic content of his talks with the Chinese leadership during his visit, Vajpayee said the decision to establish a joint study group of economists and officials was a particularly significant decision to expand bilateral cooperation in existing areas and its diversification into new areas.

PM in China: Complete Coverage

"The joint study group will identify the areas of meaningful economic potential and recommend concrete measures to the two governments to facilitate increase in the bilateral trade, promote investments and to exploit the bilateral and multilateral opportunities for joint economic efforts by India and China," Vajpayee said in a statement before leaving for New Delhi.

Vajpayee, the first Indian prime minister to visit China in a decade, noted that India and China have also signed a border trade protocol to add a third border crossing point for trade in Sikkim with the Tibet Autonomous region of China.

"Besides my own interactions with the Chinese leadership, our minister of commerce and industry has had discussions with his counterparts and with other agencies in Beijing," he said.

Vajpayee, who addressed a major IT seminar hosted by Nasscom in Shanghai on Thursday, had called for an "effective alliance" between India and China in the IT sector.

In his statement, Vajpayee also pointed out that the business delegation that accompanied him to China this time was one of the largest of all his visits abroad.

"I believe that there is a new awareness in the business and industrial circles of both countries of the potential economic relationship," Vajpayee said.

According to the Chinese customs statistics, India-China bilateral trade in 2002 touched a record $4.94 billion, up 35.5 per cent over the same figure in 2001.

India is also China's biggest trading partner in South Asia.

During January-April this year, the bilateral trade has zoomed by over 70 per cent, generating much enthusiasm among the Indian businessmen that they could find new markets for their goods and services.

During the prime minister's visit, the two sides also decided to hold the pending Joint Economic Group meeting sometime in November-December this year. The last time the JEG met was in 2000.

The apex trade bodies of India, the CII and FICCI held seminars and interactive sessions with their Chinese counterparts in Beijing and Shanghai during Vajpayee's visit, exploring business opportunities for both the sides.