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Pic Caption: The ambassador of China to India, Le Yucheng, speaking at GCCI
Byline: The Goan Network
Pic Credit: Sagun Gawade
China and Goa sowed seeds of business collaboration on Monday when Chinese Ambassador to India, Le Yucheng, visited officials of the Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) with a delegation from China United Credit Finance, China Business South Asia of Standard Chartered Bank and China India Business, and Investment & Incubation Centre (CHIBIIC).
From Goa’s side, GCCI President, Narayan Bandekar, Director of Tourism, Ameya Abhyankar, Nitin Kunkolienkar, Ralph de Sousa, Kirit Maganlal, P.K. Mukherjee and Sandip Bhandare were present.
Officials from our neighboring country and the state discussed about the former's foray in the latter through several sectors such as mining, exports, tourism and pharma.
Giving a perspective on the trade between Goa and China, Bandekar said, “Goa used to supply iron ore to China. Sometime back, representatives from the steel mills of China were in Goa. Goa also exports sea-food to China. China is setting up investment parks in Maharashtra and Gujarat. You may consider setting up similar park in Goa as well.”
Talking about industries, where Goa and China can collaborate, Kunkolienkar said, “The state government has figured out certain focus industries like electronics and light engineering. There are lot of synergies for Goa and China to work together here. Besides, we can even work in the logistics area. West coast of India is exposed to Africa and Middle-East. Moreover, most pharmaceutical companies in Goa import their raw material from China.”
China is the manufacturing engine of the world with huge strengths in electronics and logistics. This is what Goan business community would like to benefit from. The state government has already announced that it will create an electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) sector in Tuem in Pernem. But, apart from these sectors, there is a lot of scope for Goa and China to work together. Sanjay Sachdeva from CHIBIIC said, “There is potential for Goa and China to collaborate particularly in sectors like solar energy, healthcare and wellness resorts. Kerala and Uttranchal already have wellness resorts. Goa should increase its focus on this segment as Chinese companies are ready to invest in wellness resorts”
Talking in detail about what China means as a source destination for Goa tourism, Abhyankar said, “Around 100 million Chinese travel around the world every year. Of that, 70% head to Asian countries due to cultural linkages. There were some visa issues earlier but now China figures on the list of countries, which can avail e-visa facility. Goa is the crown jewel of India as far as tourism is concerned. It has 5 out of 25 top beaches of Asia. We have yoga on the beach, nightlife, adventure tourism and full-fledged lifeguard services. I suggest that there should be a Goa week in China and China week in Goa, which will help people from both the places to understand each other better”
Yucheng listened to the suggestions from everyone on how Goa and China and Goa can work closely. He said, “The opportunities in this sphere are enormous. I met the chief minister, Mr Laxmikant Parsekar, and we spoke about co-operation in future. China and India both have to realign their economic policies. Last year, China doubled its investments in India. China will also build an investment park in Haryana”.
