CHENNAI: Observing that there was enormous potential for co-operation between Tamil Nadu and China, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Monday said some of the promising areas for co-operation included electronic hardware, semiconductor, textiles, heavy engineering, automobiles, IT and infrastructure.
The Chief Minister made this observation when Le Yucheng, Chinese Ambassador to India called on him at the Secretariat. Paneerselvam said Chinese vendors had contributed to the successful implementation of some of the flagship government programmes in Tamil Nadu. This includes the supply of laptops to students and fans, mixies and grinders to families. There is a Chinese company engaged in the construction of the Chennai Metro Rail project.
The Chief Minister said infrastructure was an area where substantial co-operation with China was possible. He expressed the hope that Tamil Nadu would be able to access financing from the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Yucheng said his country was keen on strengthening relations between State-level leaders of India and provincial leaders of China. A programme to establish direct dialogues need to be put in place, he said. He invited the Chief Minister to visit China. He also informed that China proposed to establish a Consulate General in Chennai, soon.
China is also collaborating in developing a high-speed rail link between Delhi and Chennai and also in increasing the speed of the Chennai-Mysore rail line. He expressed confidence that there would be substantial Chinese participation in the Global Investors Meet to be held in Chennai and highlighted the possibilities of investment in the renewable energy sector, particularly solar energy in which China has some world class companies.
Indian Engineering Review 