A charter flight carrying 107 Indian businessmen arrived in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, on Tuesday evening, marking the second charter flight for international buyers organized by Zhejiang in 2022, and the first business charter flight from India to China.
Over the past two years, flights between China and India have been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors. Indian companies warmly welcomed the charter flights, with many hoping for normal business flights between the two countries, industry insiders said.
After a "7+3" quarantine, which requires seven days of concentrated quarantine in a dedicated place and three days of self-quarantine at home, those Indian businessmen will head for Zhejiang's Yiwu, the world capital of small commodities.
India is Yiwu's second-largest export destination. The arrival of this charter flight marked the re-opening of the door for Indian merchants to return to Yiwu for procurement. More than 2,000 Indian merchants reside in Yiwu in the peak period, according to the source.
In 2021, Yiwu's trade with India reached 17.58 billion yuan ($2.6 billion), with year-on-year growth of 38.5 percent, with exports reaching 16.76 billion yuan, up 33.8 percent, according to statistics from the Commerce Bureau of Yiwu.
