Guangdong Province to develop SEZs in Gujarat; 15 MoUs worth $590 m signed

AHMEDABAD, SEPT 16: As the two Asian majors attempt to grab world attention as the next growth destinations, Chinese leaders have called for joint cooperation to develop a 21st Century Maritime Silk Route that would strengthen global trade, with the two nations positioned as crucially.

Stratgic location

“India stands at the intersection of the Silk Route on land and the Maritime Silk Road, along which Gujarat used to be an inevitable stop. Guangdong, for its part, is one of the starting points and strategic hub of the same,” said Zhu Xiaodan, Governor of Guangdong Province, addressing the China-India Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference 2015 here. He mentioned that Guangdong province has worked out the implementation plan for participation in the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, as part of the One Belt and One Road (OBAOR) development. Companies from India as well as China signed 15 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) worth $590 million (approx ₹3,900 crore) during the course of the conference.

The deals cover sectors like infrastructure, energy, agriculture, IT, electronics and pharmaceuticals.

© DeshGujarat
© DeshGujarat

Boosting trade

The Governor further highlighted the need for stronger cooperation, to deepen trade and investment between Guangdong province and Gujarat.

“Gujarat, traditionally India’s ‘State of commerce’, boasts of highly developed industries including petrochemical, engineering and automobile manufacturing, biopharmaceutical, and IT… In response to our respective advantages, we will increase the import of advantageous products from Gujarat, and India at large, to continuously expand bilateral trade. Meanwhile, Guangdong enterprises will be encouraged to play a part in the construction of special economic zones and industrial parks in India,” said Xiaodan.

The Governor mentioned the need to enhance infrastructure cooperation in areas such as electricity and transportation, and expand cooperation in automobile, medical and pharmaceutical, and IT industries, apart from tourism.

The Chinese delegation had 50 leading enterprises and industry associations engaged in areas including electronics, information communication, household appliances, new energy, pharmaceutical, agriculture, construction materials, smart city and infrastructure.

These companies signed the MoUs on Wednesday, while business matching for industries such as pharmaceutical, ICT and infrastructure was scheduled to be held later.

© DeshGujarat
© DeshGujarat

Investment opportunities

Earlier on Tuesday, the Governor had met Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel and discussed about potential areas for cooperation.

This included investments by Chinese companies in Gujarat. The Chinese delegation will also visit GIFT City and Sanand GIDC to explore investment opportunities, apart from Sabarmati Riverfront, where the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is creating commercial and residential infrastructure.