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India has proposed to set up industrial parks in China, mainly in pharmaceutical and information technology (IT) sectors.
The Union Government, which gave an in-principle approval to the signing of an MoU at its meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, with regard to the setting up of Chinese industrial parks in India, has made this proposal to Beijing, Jagat Shah, Interim Secretary-General, China India Trade and Investment Centre (CITIC), told Business Line here on Thursday.
Earlier, the two sides had identified five states where Chinese industrial parks would be set up in India namely Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
“The idea is that the Chinese could set up their industrial parks in India in areas of their strengths. Similarly, India could set up industrial parks in China in areas like IT and pharmaceuticals,” he said.
Industrial park
Earlier this month, a 20-member Chinese business-cum-investor delegation had short-listed three locations near Sanand in Ahmedabad district to set up their units in an industrial park with an initial investment of $1 billion. They are likely to meet the Gujarat Government again for finalisation of the proposal.
Shah said Wei Wei, China’s Ambassador to India, who arrived here on Thursday, is set to meet Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel later in the day.
China is interested in investing in India especially in automotive, electronics, agro-processing, tourism and manufacturing and will participate in setting up of the industrial parks in the country. It has emerged as India's biggest trading partner in the current fiscal replacing the UAE and pushing it to the third spot.
India-China trade
India-China trade has reached $49.5 billion with 8.7 per cent share in India's total trade, while the US comes second at $46 billion with 8.1 per cent share and the UAE third at $45.4 billion with 8 per cent share during the first nine months of the current fiscal of China, which commenced in September 2013.
The NDA Government believes the move will help address India's widening trade deficit with China, which has led to the government pushing China to source more products from here, Shah said.
“This was a long pending demand to strengthen India China trade and investment ties which has now been fulfilled by the new government. In return, the Chinese Government may agree to allow India to set up industrial parks there in China.”
Gujarat has become a favoured destination for industrial investments after the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China in 2011. Modi, now the Indian PM, is likely to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Brazil next month.
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