SHANGHAI, 1st May, 2025 : The Consul General of India in Shanghai, Shri Pratik Mathur, engaged in two high-profile visits in Shanghai that underscore the deepening India–China collaboration in education and industry. He met with leaders at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) to discuss academic partnerships and student exchanges, and also participated in Shanghai Auto Show 2025 – the 21st Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition (April 25–May 2, 2025). The Auto Show is recognized as “one of the world’s largest auto exhibitions”. At the exhibition, the Consul General toured the displays of Indian companies and their Chinese joint ventures. These engagements reflect the Consulate’s commitment to supporting Indian industry abroad and to strengthening people-to-people ties between India and China.
At UIBE, Consul General Mathur emphasized the importance of academic exchange. He noted that India and China have maintained an Education Exchange Programme (EEP) since 2006, under which each country annually awards scholarships to 25 students to study in the other nation. UIBE (Shanghai University of International Business and Economics), founded in 1960, was established to develop experts in foreign trade and is widely regarded as a “cradle for professionals in foreign trade in China”. Discussions at UIBE focused on expanding student and faculty exchanges, joint research in economics and business, and collaborative language and cultural programs. Such initiatives build on existing people-to-people links: for example, in the academic year 2014–15 nearly 13,000 Indian students were studying at Chinese universities, while around 2,000 Chinese students were enrolled in Indian institutions.
At the Shanghai Auto Show, the Consul General highlighted India’s industrial outreach. He toured the exhibits featuring Indian firms and met with company executives. Notably, he visited ArcelorMittal’s booth – reflecting the ArcelorMittal-Valin Automotive Steel Co. (VAMA) joint venture in China that produces high-strength automotive steel – and met representatives of Samvardhana Motherson, a leading global auto-component supplier of Indian origin (ranked among the world’s top automotive suppliers). Mr. Mathur praised these companies’ innovation and growth, reaffirming the Consulate’s commitment to support Indian businesses overseas and to facilitate bilateral trade and investment. His visits align with India’s broader drive to take its enterprises global (#Indiancompaniesgoingglobal) and illustrate the strong business linkages between India and China.
These engagements demonstrate the Consulate’s active role in advancing India–China ties through both education and commerce. By fostering institutional partnerships at UIBE and showcasing Indian industry at the Shanghai Auto Show, Shri Mathur underlined that academic and commercial collaborations go hand-in-hand in strengthening bilateral relations. The Consulate will continue to work with Chinese partners to expand cooperation in higher education and technology, while also providing a supportive environment for Indian investors and exporters. For updates on such initiatives.
