Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c4.s2.149

v1.c4.s2.149

India and China stepped up their bilateral diplomatic engagement in the mid-1950s. Premier Zhou Enlai visited India from June 25-28, 1954 while Prime Minister Nehru visited China from October 19-30 the same year. Both visits were very warmly received by the public in both countries. Zhou Enlai visited India again in 1956 and 1960. While trade had begun to pick up again from 1951, on April 29, 1954, the two countries signed the "Agreement (with exchange of notes) on trade and intercourse between the Tibet region of China and India". The first-ever trade protocol was also signed by both sides. In this period the main exports from China to India were rice, sorghum, soybean, raw silk, machinery, transformer, wool, caustic soda and paper, while India mainly exported to China jute, rice, beans, tobacco leaf, chemicals, medicine, mica, electric fans, woollen fabrics and machinery.