Customers experience Xiaomi products at a local Mi store in Gurgaon, India on August 20, 2019.

Chinese industry experts called for an improved and friendly market environment for Chinese investors in India after media reports in the country said that the government will offer a relaxed policy for Chinese companies operating there.

The Indian government is open to allowing Chinese firms to enter the high-tech electronics sector if they set up manufacturing units in the country in partnership with local companies, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed officials.  

It was followed by other media reports that discussed a possible change of the authorities' tough approach to Chinese firms, mobile phone firms in particular.

There has been no official confirmation from the Indian government about the reports, and Chinese experts are keeping a watchful eye to see what happens next, partly because there have been reports about easing before without any follow-up action taking place.

"There were reports about favorable policies for foreign investors [such as] tax cuts, but these did not materialize," a senior industry insider told the Global Times on condition of anonymity on Wednesday.

India has not improved the business environment for Chinese-funded enterprises, the person said, noting that if such policies are introduced, supporting measures must also be taken, such as residency, visas and other issues.

"How can firms invest in India when visas even for executives of companies like BYD India cannot be issued," the insider asked.

"Until India significantly improves the business environment for Chinese companies, Chinese firms should be cautious about any investment," the industry representative further noted.

India's crackdown on Chinese-funded companies in India is still ongoing, with cases involving Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO and some other technology companies still not concluded, according to media reports.

In early October, an Indian court refused to provide any relief for Xiaomi over the $675 million asset freeze in April. It said the Chinese smartphone maker would first have to provide bank guarantees, after the firm's lawyer expressed the hope of unfreezing the account, Reuters reported.

India previously froze Xiaomi's assets, alleging that the company made illegal remittances to foreign institutions. Xiaomi responded later that all its operations in India are in strict compliance with local laws, and payment of such royalties is a legitimate business practice.

"Chinese companies in India have been suppressed under the pretext of so-called tax inspections, and they clearly feel there is discriminatory and selective enforcement, which sends a negative signal and prevents us from seeing India as being 'friendly' in this," Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Qian said that Indian government officials must match words with deeds, following its recent reported remarks to Chinese investors.

"But we always believe that the two countries should regard each other as partners rather than competitors or even threats… if the political color is abandoned, there is still much room for cooperation between the two sides," Qian said.