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Gujarat's Chinese connection is steadily on the rise. After a group of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers chose Sanand (near Ahmedabad) to set up a $100 million EV park, and $ 5 billion fund being set up by the Shanghai Entrepreneur Association (SEA) for partnering in projects in India (of which $ 1 billion has been set aside for Gujarat), now a delegation of around 100 Chinese companies from the Zhejiang province of China would visit Ahmedabad next Thursday to look for trade and investment opportunities in Gujarat.
According to a statement from the China India Trade & Investment Centre (CITIC), Xia Baolong, party secretary of Zhejiang province, the senior most political leader of the province is planning to visit Gujarat along with a high powered 100-member business delegation on November 27. "This visit would significantly contribute in supporting Prime Minister's "Make in India" initiative and would promote bilateral investment and trade relations between the two countries and the two provinces of Zhejiang and Gujarat," the statement further added.
The delegation would comprise companies from sectors including agriculture, automobiles and auto-components, chemicals, construction and building materials, electrical, environment, food and beverages, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, IT, leather, logistics, renewable energy, textiles, travel and tourism, rubber products among others.
CITIC claimed in its statment that 'Zhejiang Province is one of the most prosperous region of the country with its GDP exceeding that of many European countries'. Jagat Shah, secretary general of CITIC said, "Their primary goal is to explore joint venture opportunities with Gujarat based companies at the industrial park which will be set up under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Indian and Chinese government for the Chinese companies in Gujarat".
Earlier this month, the Shanghai Entrepreneur Association (SEA) along with the CITIC had set up a $ 5 billion China India Development Fund (CIDF) for partnering in projects on highways, smart cities and rail projects etc.
While the CIDF plans a $5 billion fund for India, of this, around $ 1 billion is earmarked for projects in Gujarat. CITIC will be the Indian partner in the CIDF, and it has around 140 member companies at the moment.
