Chinese sailors have been allowed to land at India’s ports for rest for the first time in decades, reports Xinhua News Agency.
Ten sailors from Chinese cargo vessel “Houston” landed at a port in Mumbai on Sunday for a rest.
Due to terrorism and other issues, the crews of Chinese vessels and boats from some other countries had been banned from landing after anchoring at Indian ports, said Zheng Xiyuan, Chinese general consul to Mumbai.
“It is very necessary to land and have a rest after longtime sailing,” said captain Qiao Qinming of the “Houston,” adding “thanks to the good results after negotiations between the two countries, we are glad to be the first batch of sailors to land at an Indian port.”
Both China and India have long coastlines. Over 70% of cargo transport in India is completed on the sea. In China, marine transport takes up 90% of total foreign trade transport.
The bilateral trade volume between China and India reached 80 billion US dollars last year.
