NEW Delhi (IRNA) — China said bilateral trade between the communist nation and India would touch U.S. $20 billion in the current year.

"Last year, we had drawn a five-year plan for economic and trade cooperation. We had set a target of achieving a bilateral trade volume of 20 billion dollars by 2008," Chinese Ambassador Sun Yuxi told a trade cooperation conference organized by Ficci Monday.

However, given the present situation this year itself the trade is expected to touch U.S. $ 20 billion -- two years ahead of target.

At the current pace, bilateral trade between the two countries will be around U.S. $30 billion by the end of 2008, he said.

By the end of 2010, that figure is expected to touch U.S. $50 billion against the earlier target of U.S. $30 billion, he said.

Compared with the Indian presence in China, Chinese representation is comparatively low.

According to China's statistic, only 15 Chinese companies are represented in the country, he said.

Committed to providing all sorts of support to Chinese companies, Joint Secretary of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and Industry Dinesh Sharma said there was greater scope for cooperation between the two countries and it was the right time to do business in the country.