India China Chronicle November- December 2018

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Vol 6, Issue 1, Nov-Dec 2018 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mohammed Saqib EXECUTIVE EDITOR Rajni Shaleen Chopra EDITORIAL BOARD Mani Shankar Aiyar PS Deodhar Prof Haixiao Song Dilip Cherian Shaodong Wang Amir Ullah Khan EDITORIAL TEAM Irfan Alam Audrey Tso Aishita Shukla DESIGN Manoj Raikwar OWNED, PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY Mohammed Saqib Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of India under RNI No: DELENG/2011/43423 PUBLISHED FROM A-82, Zakir Bagh, New Delhi - 110025 ADDRESS FOR ALL CORRESPONDENCE India-China Chronicle B-59 (GF), South Extension - II, New Delhi - 110049 Telefax: 011-46550348 PRINTED AT Aleena Prints Mr. Naved Rasheed Block Z-II, 378, Shahadra, Delhi-110053 Mobile:+91-9582345886 E-mail : aleenaprints@gmail.com All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

All advertising enquiries, comments and feedback are welcome at info@icec-council.org The information contained in this magazine has been reviewed for accuracy and is deemed reliable but is not necessarily complete or guaranteed by the Editor. The views expressed in this digest are solely that of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC).

Sino-US trade war opens new windows of opportunity for India

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ndia and other Asian nations are looking forward to benefitting from the higher import tariffs imposed by US and China on each other as part of the ongoing trade war.

According to a recent Reuters report, China’s exports unexpectedly fell the most in two years in December, while imports also contracted, pointing to further weakness in the world’s second-largest economy in 2019 and deteriorating global demand.

Adding to policymakers’ worries, recent data also showed China posted its biggest trade surplus with the United States on record in 2018. The Reuters report said that this could prompt President Donald Trump to turn up the heat on Beijing in their bitter trade dispute.

China is keen to have India on its side in this clash of titans. It has been talking to India about the need to counter “unilateralism and bullying tactics”, to fight “trade protectionism” and to defend free trade. India is aware that this shift in the Sino-US ties will lead to enhanced economic cooperation opportunity between India China.

The trade war with the US is among China’s biggest worries externally. Internally, the country has to address the concern of a slowdown in its GDP growth for a decade.

Geographically, India is the largest economy close to China. It offers China a staggeringly huge market for a wide range of goods and services. Bilateral trade between India and China rose to 84 billion dollars in 2017 despite the Doklam crisis and other areas of concern.

The Economic Times reported a study by the Commerce Department, which stated that India can capture the Chinese commodity market vacated by US exports in the face of the higher import duties imposed on them by Beijing. The study analyzed and identified at least a hundred products where India can replace US exports to China, which totalled around $130 billion in 2017.

The Commerce Department study said that these retaliatory tariffs provide a window of opportunity for enhancing India’s exports to China. The purpose of the analysis was to identify more such lines where India can boost its exports to China and reduce the trade gap.

With China’s exports to the US going down in the wake of the trade war, India also sensed opportunity in enhancing exports to the US. In the second half of 2018, the Commerce Ministry started the exercise to consult various export councils to shortlist items where exports to the US could be boosted. Some sectors where India can made immediate gains are in the export of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and electrical parts.

Earlier, India lagged behind China considerably in capturing the US market.

Following the trade war, all these areas merit a re-look. The cost-disadvantage that India faced vis-à-vis Chinese products earlier isn’t as sharp as before. The tariffs imposed by China on US goods have given India an edge.

An analysis by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) concluded that India can boost its exports to the US in sectors like machinery, electrical equipment, vehicles and transport parts, chemicals, plastics and rubber products.

The CII analysis also stated that India can focus on many goods for expanding its exports to the US and China markets following the hike in duties by both countries on imports from each other. CII studied the list of items for which tariffs have been hiked, and the top exports from India to the US in this category. These products included pumps, parts for military aircraft, parts for electro-diagnostic apparatus, passenger vehicles of 1500-3000 cc, valve bodies and parts of taps. Their export can be boosted with sustained efforts.

Editor-in-Chief Mohammed Saqib

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May the bonhomie, camaraderie between India and China grow and prosper

wo videos involving Chinese and Indian soldiers won hearts on the Internet in December.

In the first half of December came the video in which Indian soldiers were seen teaching their Chinese counterparts bhangra (robust Indian dance usually performed by men).

The video was shared officially by the Army, with a brief note: “Troops of Indian Army & Chinese Army sharing lighter moments after practicing gruesome Battle Obstacle Course.”

Troops of India and China had got together for the 7th Sino-India joint exercise ‘Hand-in-Hand 2018’ at Chengdu in China. After completion of the activity, Indian soldiers danced with Chinese ones, teaching them bhangra steps. The video delighted viewers in both countries and created a buzz online.

The exercise aimed to build close relations between armies of both the countries for military contingents involving joint operations. A statement issued by the Army said the exercise will involve tactical level operations in an international counterinsurgency/ counter-terrorism environment under UN mandate.

Towards December end, another video involving a Chinese soldier and an Indian officer delighted netizens. In the short clip that went viral on social media, the Indian officer was seen learning Tai Chi moves from the Chinese soldier. Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art practiced for both its defense training and its health benefits.

These videos, high on bonhomie and camaraderie, are especially heartening after severe tensions between the Indian and the Chinese armies in 2017 at the strategically sensitive Doklam tri-junction in the Sikkim sector last year. Other land, maritime and airspace security concerns vis-à-vis China continue to be a matter of concern for the Indian armed forces.

Human experience through ages has been that bonhomie and camaraderie may mean nothing if the political narrative changes. At present, the going is good. Successive meetings and interactions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China President Xi Jinping thawed the Doklam freeze. The interactions and discussions led to mature understanding between the two nations that working together, India and China can be the power engines of growth. Economic compatibility between the two Asian giants will help their large populations live happier, richer lives.

Every human narrative is a story.

Yuval Noah Harari of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was in Mumbai in mid-December to deliver the Penguin Annual Lecture on ‘The New Challenges of the 21st Century’ in Mumbai.

Harari is the author of three bestselling books on the history, present and future of the human race — Sapiens, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century and Homo Deus.

In an interaction with Pratik Kanjilal of The Indian Express, Harari said homo sapiens are essentially story-telling animals. We are beings that are prepared to die in defence of our preferred narrative, whether it is a religion or an ideology. We create fictional stories about gods, nations and corporations. These stories become the basis for our societies, and the source of meaning for our lives. We are often willing to kill or be killed for the sake of these stories.

Harari further explained this point. (Stranger than fiction, The Indian Express, December 15) “Few wars in history were fought over purely economic and demographic factors. Humans don’t fight about territory and food, they fight about stories. Consider the First World War. Why did Germany and Britain fight one another? Not due to lack of territory or lack of food. In 1914, there was enough territory to build houses for all Germans and British, and there was enough food to sustain all of them. But they could not agree on a common story, in which they could all believe, so they went to war. Today, Britain and Germany are at peace not because they have more territory (they in fact have far less than in 1914), but because they do have a common story in which most British and most Germans believe.

Nations, gods, corporations, money, ideologies — these are the illusions that humans create and believe in, and that dominate history,” said Harari.

As we welcome the New Year, let us resolve to believe in stories that allow all human beings to live and prosper.

Executive Editor Rajni Shaleen Chopra

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CONTENTS COVER STORY

India-China Need to Resolve All Issues

Audrey Tso

10 Renewed engagements, cooperation essential to boost India-China Synergy Vinod Anand and Dr. Binod Singh

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33 Ambassador on the Delhi Metro 34 Tsinghua University, The India Connection: Adventures of a Pretty Woman in China Milky Jain Kamdar

20 Challenges faced by Chinese companies in India Johnson Zhang

26 China looking at high quality agricultural products from India for import Rajni Shaleen Chopra

40 Big Fat Indian Wedding in China 44 Influx of Returnees and Policy towards Talents: More Places Where Dreams can Come True Jiawen Ye

50 Gupshup 55 Recent ICEC events

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CONSUL GENERAL INTERACTION

India-China need to resolve all issues Both countries must work together to make 21st century the Asian century

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 Audrey Tso

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r Anil K. Rai joined as the Consul General of India in Shanghai in November 2017. Before coming to China, Mr Rai had served as Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations at Geneva.

Mr Rai is a thinker and a doer. He is keenly aware of the strengthened political and economic engagement between our two great nations, and firmly believes in India-China cooperation. Under his leadership, the Indian Consulate at Shanghai has hosted many meaningful events to bring Chinese and Indians together in order to ensure greater mutual understanding. Mr Rai rejects speculations based on perception.

Mr Rai interacted with Ms Audrey Tso, Executive Director of IndiaChina Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC) on a range of issues. During the interaction, he also provided clarity on some points of concern highlighted by Chinese entrepreneurs and professionals who have worked in India or are planning to start their investments in India.

Which China stories attract India the most?

The foremost is how China has dealt with poverty alleviation. Effectively addressing poverty is a high-priority matter for the Indian government, and one of the top subjects where India can learn from China.

Since the opening-up of China’s economy in 1978, China’s poverty rate has drastically reduced from over 80% to less than 10% in 2017. According to World Bank, China has “experienced the fastest sustained expansion by a major economy in history—and has lifted more than 800 million people out of poverty.” With a same big population base as India, how did China achieve this phenomenal feat? India wants to study this, because it wants to lift its own population out of poverty.

China’s control on tropical and

Audrey Tso is the Executive Director of India China Economic and Cultural Council. She is based at Hangzhou

China has controlled the incidence of tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid and malaria. India is trying hard to provide quality primary medical care to all its citizens and has launched ambitious programs like Ayushman Bharat. Lessons from China are useful in achieving the objective of Health For All

neglected diseases is another subject that deeply interests India. These diseases include tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid, malaria etc. In developed countries, the chances of getting afflicted by tropical and neglected diseases are very low.

Hence, multi-national pharmaceutical companies in developed nations have not invested in research and development for the control of these diseases. These are problems largely afflicting developing countries. With great effort, China has controlled the incidence of tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid and malaria. India is trying hard to provide quality primary medical care to all its citizens and has launched ambitious programs like

Ayushman Bharat. Lessons from China are useful in achieving the objective of Health For All. China’s achievements in other civic, social and economic areas are also impressive. These include provision of clean water, sanitation services, employment, decent livelihood, environment and sustainability, growth of manufacturing and knowledge industry. With a remarkable growth in its GDP, China has successfully dealt with these challenges. India is facing these challenges now, and can learn useful lessons from the China, as this country has passed through similar situations which are faced by many of developing countries today.

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CONSUL GENERAL INTERACTION

Is India the next China in terms of economic development?

This question is often posed, because India is straining for higher development.

If we examine the graph on China’s GDP growth, we will find that in the initial years after China opened up, the growth was linear. But from about 2000 onwards, the growth was exponential.

Such exponential growth will happen after a period of incubation or preparation. Experts feel that now India is at the cusp to enter the exponential growth trajectory.

First of all, let us look at India’s population structure. India has the youngest population in the world. The average age of an Indian is 26.7 years.

From the projections generated by the US Census Bureau, we find that by 2050, the biggest chunk of China’s population

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will be in the age group of 60-64 years.

India will have a much more balanced demographic division, in which every age group would be evenly numbered. The demographic dividend is one of the most exciting factors for India’s growth in the next 50 years.

Second, ease of doing business in India is improving dramatically. As a result of continued efforts by the government, India has recorded a jump of 23 positions against its rank of 100 in 2017. It is now placed at 77th rank among 190 countries assessed by the World Bank. India’s leap of 23 ranks in the Ease of Doing Business is significant. Last year, India had improved its rank by 30 places, a rare feat for any large and diverse country the size of India.

There is also other economic data that indicates India’s growth in the coming years. India is already ranked number

three in the GDP per capita (PPP) list in the world, with a huge domestic market.

GDP growth comparison between India and China India’s GDP growth is catching up with China. It is projected that in 2018, India’s GDP growth rate will exceed China, and India will become the fastestgrowing economy in the world. The same trend can be found in the GDP Per capita growth.

China’s growth is based on a domestic savings and exports driven economic model. India’s economy is based on consumption cum domestic savings model. With India’s accelerated development and a rise in people’s spending capacity, it will have an even bigger domestic market.

A large number of multinational companies have found huge markets

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India’s GDP growth is catching up with China. It is projected that in 2018, India’s GDP growth rate will exceed China, and India will become the fastestgrowing economy in the world. The same trend can be found in the GDP per capita growth

in India, and have also made long-term investment plans in India. India is among the most favoured destinations worldwide for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In 2017, it was the 10th largest recipient of global FDI. India is set to become the topmost destination for capital investment – even ahead of China and the US. This is significant, but this point has always been undermined by Chinese.

Many misconceptions have prevailed about investing in India.

What are the misconceptions where India-China economic relations are concerned?

In the previous issues of the India China Chronicle (ICC), there were articles by some eminent Chinese professionals and businessmen who have much experience

in India. But some of their observations aroused controversy.

We find it important to look at their feedback and address some of their misconceptions. Let us look at some points of concern here.

Many Chinese confuse between contractors and investors There is a specific difference here.

Contractors are engaged to provide a specific service within a specified timeframe and thus, are not entitled to get treatment as investors.

Another important point is that mainland China is not a signatory to the WTO Government Procurement Act (GPA) so as India.

GPA regulates the government procurement of goods and services by the public authorities of the parties to

the agreement, based on the principles of openness, transparency and nondiscrimination. GPA is a multi-lateral agreement within the framework of the WTO, meaning that not all WTO members are parties to the agreement.

As neither India nor China is signatory to GPA, both countries can exercise the rights to restrict equal treatment to other countries in public procurements.

Therefore, if the Chinese contracting companies or goods did not get equal treatment in government procurement, it is well within the WTO rules.

Chinese companies feel they are not given level playing field Not being given an equal treatment is a common misconception among Chinese entrepreneurs and professionals who have worked in India. This assessment

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CONSUL GENERAL INTERACTION report, India is better than China in terms of rule of law. The overall ranking of India this year jumped from 142 to 77.

China was at the 78th position only one year back.

In indicators relating to the legal system (Rule of Law and Voice and Accountability), India has a higher score than China.

We are conscious of the fact that there are scope for improvement in the Indian investment climate and delivery at ground level. This is a continuous process and India is committed to continuously work in this direction.

Will India’s Enemy Property Act lead to confiscation of Chinese properties?

Since its introduction, the Enemy Property Act has drawn much attention from the Chinese community. Many experts have explained the origin and purpose of the Enemy Property Act. It relates to the partition of India, when Pakistan was formed. But many Chinese are still worried that one day, this law will be used on Chinese nationals.

I totally assure the Chinese that they have no reason to worry in this regard.

India has a robust legal system, which is quite different from that in China.

One will find many examples that India respects legal property of all kinds.

The Chinese complain of visa complications vis-àvis India

is wrong. India and China both are members of WTO and hence according to WTO Rules, “most favoured nation” (MFN) status is accorded. Which otherwise means that Chinese products enjoy nominally equal trade advantages in the Indian market.

We must also be mindful that India has strong bilateral investment treaties and tax arrangements with some countries like Singapore, Mauritius. But

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India and China are still to finalize such investment agreement.

There is also a feeling among some Chinese that India investment laws are transparent or anti-China. In an article carried in the India China Chronicle, a Chinese businessman complained about lack of transparency regarding the investment procedure in India.

This is a misconception. According to World Bank’s ease of doing business

The Chinese often say that it is difficult to get Indian work visa. The proposal for simplification of visa is under active consideration.

For tourist and business visa, India offers an e-visa portal. It is easy for a Chinese to get it. But China does not offer an e-visa to Indians. This makes things relatively difficult for Indians who want to visit China for business or tourism.

If a Chinese official wants to visit India, they can do so with any organization’s invitation. But if an Indian officials needs to visit China, the invitation of the Chinese government is essential.

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How strong are India-China relations?

Despite many misconceptions, the relations between India and China are deepening. Across diverse industries and sectors, India-China relations are steadily getting stronger. India’s entertainment industry is doing exceedingly well in China. Indian movies like Dangal, 3 Idiots are among the highest earning non-Chinese language films in China.

Xiaomi is the biggest seller of mobile handsets in India. China-India bilateral trade exceeded 85 billion in 2018. Out of this, 64 billion accounted for exports from China. This made China the top trading partner for India.

Politically, solidarity is building among developing countries. Both

China and India have wide, overlapping regional and global interests which need be addressed carefully by both parties.

What is the road ahead?

India and China have some outstanding issues. These include our unresolved border issues, reforms of the UN Security Council, India’s candidature for NSG and China’s selective deviation on issues of terrorism. Despite these differences, India’s approach is to continue to remain in dialogue to resolve these issues.

Due to US-China trade frictions, it is to be seen that countries are overly dependent on China for sourcing, manufacturing, investments or parts of its supply-chain, in currency swap agreements to face uncertainty. In that

scenario every country, including India and other South Asian countries need to draw contingency plans and be ready for transition.

India and China both require to work together to make 21st Century the Asian century. We must work jointly to achieve sustained development, and overcome developmental challenges. We must maintain peace and tranquility on border, with strategic guidance to our respective forces. We also need to achieve balance in trade to build a win-win situation. It is important for us to work collectively in order to enhance investments and improve market access. Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, tourism, education and culture may be explored as new frontiers for cooperation. 

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INDIAN THINK-TANKS CHINA VISIT

Renewed engagements, cooperation essential to boost India-China Synergy  Vinod Anand and Dr Binod Singh

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ince the Wuhan reset, bilateral relations between India and China have seen a new wave of friendly cooperation and engagements from both sides. Think tanks are supposed to play an important role in this process of enhancing

mutual understanding. An eight-member scholars delegation of Indian think-tanks undertook a field trip to witness the achievements of China’s Reform and Development at Forty (1978-2018) and discuss bilateral relations and the way forward from the Wuhan consensus.

The visit also revolved around understanding the current economic and political situation in China and their

perspective on evolving strategic scenario at the global and regional levels. The visit covered the capital city of Beijing, Haikou (Hainan) and Guangzhou.

In Beijing, which is the major policymaking center, the delegation members had open and candid interactions with both government and non-government affiliated think-tanks.

Think tanks in China have been

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi meeting the President of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Xi Jinping, at the East Lake Guest House, in Wuhan, China

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Vinod Anand is Senior Fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation

tasked to play a major role in the rise of their nation. Hence in the last few years, China has seen a major surge in both government and non-governmental think tanks. Pangoal Institution, which is focused mostly on economic issues but also looks at strategic issues, is one such non-governmental think tank. Pangoal is unique because India is one of its major research areas.

The delegation visited China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), affiliated to Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Here, we learnt the official view regarding the current thinking on India-China relations and cooperation with India.

Chinese People Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA) is as old as the People's Republic of China. It was founded by then Premier Zhou Enlai, who was concurrently Foreign Minister. CPIFA hosted the delegation at its ceremonial headquarters located in the vicinity of the Forbidden City. This was followed by an interaction with Peking University’s Center for South Asian Studies.

In the city of Haikou (capital of Hainan province), teams from the China Institute of Reform and Development (CIRD) and National Institute for South China Sea Studies interacted with the visiting

Dr. Binod Singh is Director, BRICS Institute, New Delhi

Indian delegation on issues related with the current situation of peace and security in the region. In Guangzhou, Guangdong Institute for International Strategies (GIIS) at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies exchanged useful ideas for mutual cooperation. We also interacted with Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences (GASS), a city-level major local think tank which advises the government on various aspects of urbanization and industrialization. What follows below are some of the important points which came up for discussion during the interactions and impressions gained from such deliberations.

Chinese Economic Transition and Development

Chinese scholars say that after 40 years of economic reform and development, China is entering a new phase of opening up. This is led by the policies announced by President Xi at the first ever China Import Expo in Shanghai in the first week of November 2018. Such pronouncements were also articulated earlier in China’s Bo Ao Forum held at Sanya, Hainan in April this year.

There appears to be a major shift in the reform and the opening up patterns. The

focus is now shifting towards domestic consumption and increasing the imports.

Chinese think tanks have advised the government to increase import of products and services, and take measures to increase consumption.

People Republic of China had adopted a closed economic model based on the then Soviet model since its formation in 1949. After many debacles and crises and finally with the death of its founder Mao Zedong, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping initiated the four modernizations that also included “economic reform and opening up” in 1978. China’s economic reform started from the agricultural sector with some pilot projects in Anhui province regarding the “commune production system” which was shifted to “household system.” Later, Chinese coastal cities were opened to foreign investment. This provided a great boost to the Chinese manufacturing sector. The city of Shenzhen today is one of the largest manufacturing hubs in the country, and also one of the major leaders in China’s high-tech sector development.

The Chinese manufacturing sector is not just an independent system. It comprises of a comprehensive industrial ecosystem based on numerous industrial

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INDIAN THINK-TANKS CHINA VISIT clusters. Earlier, among some social scientists there was a concern that drastic shift from manufacturing to services will lead to a high rate of unemployment.

But in China, unemployment has been decreasing gradually, with new avenues for employment opening up.

The e-commerce industry has employed millions of package delivery boys. This has been cited as a successful example of reemployment. China’s Information Technology (IT) sector has also grown fast in the last two decades. China is now being regarded as one of the major IT product and services developing countries in the world.

Many Chinese startups have become household names even in India, like Alibaba. Their strength lies in IT with innovation. China has emerged as a leader in cloud technology. Alibaba’s cloud technology is developing at a fast rate because of the large size of the domestic market.

The current focus is to revitalize the real economy by reducing institutional costs. The central government has launched many policies to revitalize the real economy, but the private sector is still facing some challenges. The central government is expected to usher in some additional measures and reforms so that it moves away from a centrally-controlled economy. To deepen the market opening in sectors which are still not accessible to foreigners, such as insurance and other financial markets, Chinese government has to open up its economy. Foreign players are also being gradually allowed to provide services in education, healthcare, and other related services.

The start-up strength

China is home to the largest number of unicorns. It is believed that every minute, one new Chinese startup is formed. Now, major focus is on Hainan, an island province which was opened up in 1992, but nothing much had happened. The opening up of the Hainan economy is one of the major steps of central government in this decade. It is being developed as a test pilot zone for free trade area. The

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strategic industry being developed there is IT and big data centre. A group of 59 countries’ nationals have got visa waivers to come and visit this island province of China. As a pilot scheme launched in the province of Hainan, companies are allowed to control and regulate their own IPRs. Under President Xi Jinping, the Chinese government’s major focus of ‘Made in China 2025’ plan is being implemented on war footing. China is attempting to move towards being technologically self-sufficient. “Made in China 2025” is a state-led industrial policy that seeks to make China dominant in global high-end technologies. But the label of “unfair” trade practices planted by US President Donald Trump is seen as a major challenge to Chinese technological development. Most of the chips and core technologies are still being supplied by the US companies. Although there is some visible impact of US trade war on the Chinese economy, yet mutual interdependence and the overall volume of the trade between them is too large to be impacted by tariff hike. Recent pause in the

An eight-member scholars delegation of Indian think-tanks undertook a field trip to witness the achievements of China’s Reform and Development at Forty (1978-2018) and discuss bilateral relations and the way forward from the Wuhan consensus

trade war between the US and China offers hope for an amicable solution in the coming months.

Structural Changes in China’s GDP

The structure of the Chinese economy is now undergoing a shift from the manufacturing sector to the services sector, which has been witnessing a continuous growth for last several years. According to experts at the China Institute for Re-

form and Development (CIRD) in Haikou city, Chinese economic growth is entering the post-industrial phase. The Chinese services sector is now contributing more than the manufacturing sector towards annual GDP growth. Although traditional investment is going down, the new investment in the services sector is going up at a good speed. In 2015, the share of services industries in the GDP for the first time had surpassed the share of manufacturing industry. In 2017, the share of ser-

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India is an attractive destination for Chinese tourists, especially with the increasing interest of the Chinese in yoga and Buddhism

vices industry was 51.6 per cent. It is projected to grow up to 55 per cent in 2020.

The contribution of industrial sector was 40.5 per cent, while that of agriculture was only about 7.9 per cent, indicating that China has entered the phase of the post-industrial economy.

Under the so-called “new normal”, China’s economy is undergoing several structural changes, where the focus is on the quality of growth. China is gradually moving its cheap and low-end manufacturing sector to either its hinterland or to neighboring countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Bangladesh. According to CIRD scholars, the huge domestic demand potential is expected to sustain the country’s growth in coming decades. As consumption percentages in GDP reveal, China is gradually moving towards becoming a high consumption society.

It is hard to imagine that four decades ago, China was an economy of shortages. After four decades of reform and

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INDIAN THINK-TANKS CHINA VISIT such as Alibaba have a major stake in the Indian market. After the backlash and increased tariff on Chinese products entering the US market, China has reoriented its policies. There is motivation to look for new alternative trade partners, and India is seen as a potential option. There have been some gestures of increasing the import of Indian agricultural products, including mangoes. Some efforts have been made to explore the potential for increasing overall trade in other sectors.

Socio-Economic Impact

The Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, marks the location where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. It is among the favourite destinations for Buddhist pilgrims who visit India

India-China tourism cooperation has huge potential but remains under-exploited due to poor air connectivity and infrastructure deficit on tourist sites in India, especially at the Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Simplifying the visa process and increasing the number of air routes would go a long way in promoting tourism. The life-time ambition of many Chinese is to visit places where Buddha Shakaymuni achieved enlightenment and preached, viz. places such as Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Rajgir and Sarnath

opening up to foreign investment, China has seen a vast change in its economic well-being and security. Now, China is one of the largest producers and consumer of finished durable goods. It is estimated that by 2020, the overall the domestic consumption sector will be 50 per cent of total Chinese GDP. Indeed, this is a fundamental change in Chinese economic structure. Under the current circumstances, the Chinese GDP is expected to grow at an average of 6 per cent in the coming years. The growth will be led by the services sector. In 2017, the

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incremental consumption was USD 514 billion. Economists in China believe that if the country can release domestic demand, the incremental consumption could rise to one trillion USD by 2020.

Rapid Development of e-commerce

The new economy and e-commerce are developing fast in China. It has emerged as the new engine of its economic growth.

The latest record was set by Alibaba, of approximately USD 27 billion sales on one day. Chinese e-commerce companies

On the social front, the country’s leadership is paying attention to structural challenges in the economy. There has been the major focus on poverty reduction under President Xi’s regime. China has around 100 million people trapped in poverty. The Chinese government has launched one of the world’s largest social security projects. This covers each and every individual/ household in the rural areas, and provides basic support for the living. The Chinese government has been implementing plans to move villagers to small town and cities. Many of the Chinese villages have been either deserted, or are inhabited by only grandparents.

China is heading towards becoming a village-less society in certain regions.

The Chinese population is gradually ageing. Old-age parental care and housing is an emerging industry. In metropolitan cities, there is a dearth of labour in the construction sector. In households, maids are from the Philippines, Vietnam and many other ASEAN countries. In mega Chinese cities, the salary of construction workers has reached 10,000 RMB or even nearly USD 2000. This is a serious crisis. It has delayed many large projects. The construction sector in China seems to have reached saturation point, with the labour seeking opportunities abroad. Measures have been taken to decongest mega cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

In the new era, there have been significant changes in the Chinese society’s behaviour, especially the way they spend and consume. With the help of QR code

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Members of the delegation payment technology, China will become a largely cashless society in the coming years. People from all age groups now make mobile payments via the applications Alipay or Wechat. With the help of technology, China is pushing hard to create safe platforms for all users. On the political front, the Chinese communist party continues to strengthen its ideology, and consolidate its control over any political dissent.

Despite announced reform measures, there are still many institutional barriers to foreign players in China. It will be a long time before China becomes a level playing field for them. The institutional and structural barriers are mainly in the area of supply and demand side. There are sectors with over-capacity. China’s housing sector is overheated and oversupplied. As per some estimates, more than 35 per cent of the constructed houses are unoccupied. Such cities are being called “ghost cities.” But a lot of rural demand has not yet been exploited. Steel and iron are still required to construct rural China. The structural gap in consumption is huge in rural and urban China.

● Vinod Anand, Senior Fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) ● Dr. Harinder Sekhon, Senior Fellow, VIF ● Sushant Sareen, Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation (ORF) ● Dr. Binod Singh, Director BRICS Institute, New Delhi ● Dr. Pankaj Jha, Asst Professor, Jindal School of International Affairs (former Director Research, Indian Council of World Affairs) ● Dr. Faisal Ahmed, Asst. Prof. FORE School of Management, New Delhi ● Khalid Shah, Associate Fellow, ORF ● Shubhangi Pandey, Junior Fellow, ORF

Reenergizing India-China Relations in post-Wuhan Era

Economic Cooperation There have been talks of renewed agenda for India China cooperation in the postWuhan era. Scholars across China believe that China and India have the historical opportunity of cooperation, as both have strong political leaders President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm of affairs. China expects India’s support in the fight against the socalled US unilateralism. Being part of WTO and the BRICS arrangement, India naturally supports multi-lateralism both at the global level and in Asia. New Delhi

is not in favour of either US-led or Chinaled world order.

For India, the foremost issue is trade imbalance, which is a major concern for Indian policy-makers. According to an SBI ‘Country Wrap’ report, India’s trade deficit with China expanded to USD 51.11 billion in 2017, and further to USD 62.94 billion in 2018, from USD 38.72 billion in 2013.

Exploiting India-China Tourism Potential Scholars across the aisle felt that for India and China, one of the important fields of cooperation is tourism. Chinese tourists are famous for their spending powers,

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INDIAN THINK-TANKS CHINA VISIT and have contributed much to the global tourism industry. According to Chinese scholars, India is an attractive destination for Chinese tourists, especially with the increasing interest of the Chinese in yoga and Buddhism.

There is need to enhance mutual understanding and promotion of culture.

Some wrong perceptions about each other also need to be set right by enhancing people-to-people contact. In recent years, one major positive development has been that Indian movies are becoming highly popular in China. These movies have contributed to greater Chinese interest in India.

India-China tourism cooperation has huge potential but remains under-exploited due to poor air connectivity and infrastructure deficit on tourist sites in India, especially at the Buddhist pilgrimage sites.

Most Chinese know about India through the internet, through Indian movies and some Chinese classics such as “The Journey to the West”, which talks about the journey of Chinese monk Xuan Zang to India. These sources have at times promoted negative perceptions about India. Simplifying the visa process and increasing the number of air routes would go a long way in promoting tourism. For many Chinese, it is their life time ambition to visit places where Buddha Shakaymuni achieved enlightenment and preached, viz. places such as Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Rajgir and Sarnath.

Promoting City-to City and Stateto-Provinces Relations Being two large nations, India and China are home to numerous cities and local governments, but they hardly interact with each other. To promote inter-city and inter-province level relations, India and China have signed many agreements, but none of them have been effectively implemented. One of the most important ways to achieve the inter-city cooperation is to establish sister city relationship.

Guangzhou is the third largest city in China, only behind Beijing and Shanghai.

It claims to have more than 77 sister city

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relations throughout the world. Guangzhou had signed a similar agreement with Ahmadabad in 2014, but not much has been achieved. Both sides have not utilized the potential of this relationship.

Many scholars from both sides (including the authors of this paper) have consistently emphasized that inter-city and inter-province relations can be good channels to promote India-China relations. The progress on this front has been disappointing due to bureaucratic and structural delays in implementing the existing agreements.

For any viable and long-term relationship, it is important for the cities and states to get to know each other’s strength and complementarities. Given the large size of India and China, this becomes more relevant than in any other case.

The Chinese scholars emphasized that in China, people do not really hear much about Indian cities. Therefore, Chinese companies and officials do not have much understanding about where to go in India and invest or, for that matter, even spend their leisure time, or where to go for recreational purposes. Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad seem to be most attractive to Chinese. Even Jaipur, emerging as a smart city, has made some positive impression on Chinese minds.

Indian cities seem to be lag behind

The Taj Mahal is among the top tourist destinations in India

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Indian cine star Sonu Sood with local artistes at a promotional event in China

India is an attractive destination for Chinese tourists, especially with the increasing interest of the Chinese in yoga and Buddhism. There is need to enhance mutual understanding and promotion of culture. Some wrong perceptions about each other also need to be set right by enhancing people-topeople contact. In recent years, one major positive development has been that Indian movies are becoming highly popular in China. These movies have contributed to greater Chinese interest in India

Chinese cities in some respects especially with regards to high tech amenities. Chinese scholars believe that Indian cities rank high on social inclusiveness, which they feel is lacking in Chinese cities. They are quite keen to learn from the Indian experience of inclusiveness and public participation. The Chinese scholars suggested that leading Chinese companies line Huawei and Alibaba can help in building smart Indian cities., Andhra Pradesh is getting its capital city Amaravati constructed. Chinese companies with expertise in city infrastructure development and designing of smart cities can help such projects. India needs to promote this by sharing more information with Chinese companies.

Smart Cities Cooperation Guangdong is one of the most industrialized provinces in China. It was the pioneer in carrying out economic reforms and development. Guangzhou, the capital city, is being developed as a smart city. The local think tank GASS is playing a leading role in providing the blueprint for the sustainable development of this cosmopolitan city. A major focus area in Guangzhou is promotion of smart logistics. But e-commerce has generated many side effects in Guangzhou. The public heaps discarded packing material on the roadside. In 2017, 3.9 billion packages were used in Guangzhou, accounting for 200 packages per head. This was termed as an environmental challenge. It was suggested that since both India and China have a huge population, they can share their wisdom to solve these problems and build smart cities.

Chinese think tanks are closely following the ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’ and ‘smart city’ projects. For the Chinese scholars, a major topic for IndiaChina cooperation was building smartcities. The Chinese side has shown keen interest in working with India for specific mutual cooperation, as both face similar challenges of rapid urbanization and sustainable cities. Chinese experts have visited India and studied India’s pattern of city development and urbanization.

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INDIAN THINK-TANKS CHINA VISIT They hold some very interesting opinions.

India can learn from China in this field.

At the same time, Chinese scholars acknowledge that Indian cities are more diverse and socially inclusive than Chinese cities. For the Indian cities to be called ‘Smart Cities’, Chinese scholars say logistics, traffic management and decongestion of the Central Business District (CBD) area should be prioritized.

It is also obvious that Chinese interest in Indian smart cities is motivated by their commercial interest. After facing restrictions and ban in several countries, Huawei, ZTE, Lang Chao and many other Chinese Information Communication Technology (ICT) hardware development companies have been lobbying hard to partner with Indian smart city development projects. The fast-growing Indian telecom sector is a highly attractive business area for them. Chinese companies are already major players in this sector.

Despite inherent security concerns, India has not announced any policy to ban Chinese telecom companies to participate in building its critical infrastructure.

India China 2+1 Cooperation in Regional Security and Development

For regional security and trust building, the Chinese side has proposed the ‘India China 2+1’ concept, which is about holding dialogues between India and China involving any third country such as, Nepal, Sri Lanka or even Afghanistan.

They expect that Indian scholars will deliberate on this proposal. China is keen to explore the potential of ‘India China 2+1’ in the South Asian region.

China still wants India to reconsider its stand on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In 2019, China is going hold the second round of “The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.” It expects India to send its delegation and be a part of the Chinese overreach to the world. India has made it clear that the projects of BRI pass through the disputed territory of India and Pakistan. Hence it is an issue of sovereignty which cannot be overlooked.

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According to the Indian perspective, developments on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which has now entered the second stage, are not very positive. Many countries such as Sri Lanka and the Maldives have fallen into a debt-trap vis-à-vis China. This has engendered domestic political instability in these countries. That ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) has become a ‘debt trap’ for small nations in the region was contested by Chinese scholars. They were more inclined to project BRI as a ‘Game Changer’.

With regard to the situation in the South China Sea (SCS), Mr Wu Shicun, the President of NISCS, said that the overall security situation in SCS remains unchanged, yet the possibility of an escalation in regional tensions giving rise to instability cannot be ruled out.

He recalled that from 2013 to 2016 when Philippines initiated litigation regarding SCS, China suffered many problems.

Now, things are relatively peaceful and stable, he said.

China is the major coastal state for SCS, and claims a major part of the sea.

India’s official position on the SCS issue was conveyed to the Chinese scholars. India’s main interest in SCS is freedom of navigation and overflight, as over 50 per cent of India’s trade passes through this area. India also is in favour of peaceful resolution of disputes in the SCS. From the Indian perspective, peace and security are of prime concern in order to pursue national interests.

Indo-Pacific and China’s Concerns

Chinese think tank scholars hold that Japan initiated the process of Indo-Pacific strategy to offset China’ influence in the region. The US has pushed the same concept in order to increase military presence in the Indian Ocean and also in SCS. The US, Japan and Australia have been promoting a narrative of militarization of South China Sea as an excuse to maximize their influence in this region.

The concept of Indio-Pacific has not been well accepted by the Chinese. They

India’s main interest in South China Sea is freedom of navigation and over-flight, as over 50 per cent of India’s trade passes through this area. India is in favour of peaceful resolution of disputes in South China Sea.

were concerned that India has joined the United States, Japan and also Australia to form a quadrilateral alliance, also at times referred to as “arc of democracy”.

They believe that this is a US design to contain China, and India is leaning with the US. The Chinese side often raises this issue with visiting Indian delegations.

They expect India to uphold the fundamentals of India’s foreign policy of not forming any alliance with any power.

The Chinese expect India not to get very close to the United States. During our interaction, the President of South China Sea Institute in Hainan, Mr. Wu Shicun, expressed concern regarding the recent trends in Indo-Pacific consultations between the four major powers.

He wanted us to clarify whether this was aimed at containing China.

We explained the Indian perspective to him in detail. The same is clearly re-

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phasized that India believes in strategic autonomy and does not buy the supremacy of any one country. Indian policy has been to work with China on various regional and multilateral fronts. India’s approach has been pragmatic, and it pursues its national interests.

India’s “Act East Policy” has also attracted the attention of the Chinese researchers. Their main concern is the policy activism from the Indian side from “Look East” to “Act East.” It was explained to them that the dominant impulse of Act East policy was to engage the countries economically and explore mutual synergies in other spheres, especially in people-to-people relations and traditional cultural linkages.

China keen on strong relationship with India

Chinese scholars acknowledge that Indian cities are more diverse and socially inclusive than Chinese cities. For the Indian cities to be called ‘Smart Cities’, Chinese scholars say logistics, traffic management and decongestion of the Central Business District (CBD) area should be prioritized

flected in the statements made by Prime Minister Modi at Shangri La dialogue and our Ministry of External Affairs. India advocates free and open sea for all nations, and sees ASEAN at the centre of the IndoPacific affairs. ASEAN centrality is at the heart of this concept. It is open and any country can join it. It also comes with the premise that the benefits of globalization should be available to all. Connectivity is

a major element of this concept.

The Quadrilateral is still evolving.

Its outcome will depend on the rapidly changing strategic environment at global and regional levels. India is a member of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Recently a Russia, India and China (RIC) summit on the sidelines of G20 meeting was also held. It was em-

China is keen to keep its bilateral relationship with India on an even keel despite many structural and fundamental differences on a number of issues. These include CPEC violating India’s sovereignty, Beijing’s stance on cross-border terrorism, India’s Nuclear Suppliers Group membership and the border issue. There is a great degree of enthusiasm in both countries for taking forward our multilateral and regional cooperation after Wuhan consensus. Post the Wuhan informal summit, there have been plenty of Chinese articles discussing how to improve India-China relations at all levels. Such proposals and recommendations at times overlook Indian concerns and interests.

Chinese scholars have expressed interest in working with India in the development of African countries, but no substantive proposals have been made.

They acknowledge that India enjoys enormous soft-power in the region, and can leverage it for commercial cooperation. In recent years, there has been a backlash in some African countries against Chinese projects which have got mired in controversies and corruption.

Some Indian scholars also believe that India and China can work together in Africa in order to develop that region. 

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HIPAD WORKERS’ AGITATION

Challenges faced by Chinese companies in India Operations at Hipad India were disrupted after agitation by some employees Measures taken for factory safety, employee stability and business advancement must be communicated to the employees on a regular basis to build trust  Johnson Zhang

H

ipad Technology India Pvt Ltd is a Chinese enterprise. It was established in the beginning of 2016. Hipad India is a high-tech company with large-scale investment. The company has further plans for high investment in India in the near future. Hipad India is owned by the cen-

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tral government of China. It is one of the top ten Chinese enterprises in India. The company has invested significant capital in India, and has built a factory plant on a large scale in the Noida industrial zone.

The factory is divided into two parts. The first factory plant has a production area of about 21,000 square meters. The sec-

ond factory plant has a production area of about 15,000 square meters.

Our factory includes more than ten advanced automatic SMT assembly lines, and 25 mobile phones and industrial production lines. At present, the production capacity exceeds 1.5 million mobile phones per month. We have got all the required approvals of the Government of India.

Administratively, the company is governed by an able management. It has

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acquired abundant purchasing orders.

Hipad India employees about 2,500 employees at diverse levels. We are planning to hire about 2,000 more employees.

On November 29, sometime after 9 am, an untoward incident took place on the Hipad India factory campus. The strike and partial damage by the local employees lasted for about two hours.

Some employees with an ulterior motive deliberately damaged the facilities in the office area, and part of the factory workshop area. Due to the commotion and the disturbance caused by the incident, the whole factory had to stop production that day. As a result, equipment and many facilities were damaged. The vast majority of employees who had nothing to do with this untoward incident were forced to stop work.

The Noida police department, in cooperation with the local police station, immediately responded to the incident.

About 40-50 heavily armed policemen of Noida police force quickly reached the place of the riot. They controlled the situation in a very short time. They immediately evacuated the employees who were involved in the strike.

The quick action taken by the police minimized the loss at the Hipad India factory campus. The head of the local police station was in regular touch with Hipad India after the incident. He personally supervised that no further untoward incident took place at the factory premises.

In order to prevent any repetition of this unfortunate law and order incident, the police deployed an explosion-proof vehicle at the factory. The police promptly arranged for adequate on-site security in order to ensure that factory work could be resumed as soon as possible.

The local Labour Department also played a positive role. Officials from the Labour Department reached the factory premises promptly. They communicated with the factory management and also with the employee representatives and the production management to understand the cause of the strike. The rapid action taken by the officials of the Labour Department played a positive role in the

Johnson Zhang, Director, Hipad India

“

Our factory includes more than ten advanced automatic SMT assembly lines, and 25 mobile phones and industrial production lines. At present, the production capacity exceeds 1.5 million mobile phones per month. We have got all the required approvals of the Government of India

speedy resolution of the whole incident.

Hipad India and local Chinese enterprises in Noida express their heartfelt gratitude to the Indian government and relevant departments for their prompt response and effective handling of the incident, and the services rendered by them to our enterprise.

The incident was immediately notified and reported to the Chinese embassy in India. Hipad India also received immediate attention and assistance from the Chinese embassy.

The main reason for this incident is that after the Diwali festival in India, the

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“

materials required for production at the factory complex were delayed by about ten days due to delay in international transportation. This impacted the production plan at the factory for about a week.

During this period, some employees had gone to their respective hometowns on leave for Diwali. Some other employees had resigned after Diwali.

In order to prevent the loss of employees working in the key positions, Hipad India arranged that some employees should take leave for some time. The human resources department and the vendors’

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HIPAD WORKERS’ AGITATION company were instructed to jointly train some employees during this period.

We had informed the vendors that we would ask the employees on leave to return to the factory in December, and continue work.

The strike and damaging action by some employees took place in the workshop where all the employees had been working normally for three days, and the production capacity was gradually reaching its full potential. The strike was a highly unfortunate incident at the factory complex.

From the employees who participated in the incident, we came to know the reason for the strike. We found that some employees were fearful about the company’s policy of sending some employees on leave, and arranging for the training of some employees.

The unfortunate part is that the individual who started the strike was neither associated with those employees who went on leave, nor with those who employees who undertook work-related training. In fact, the men who indulged in the strike were those whose work schedule was carrying on normally as before. Hence, the logic given by them for the strike contradicts the facts.

The real reason behind the strike, we later learnt, was not so simple. We found that some people deliberately wanted to derail the business and work environment at the factory premises.

With the prompt response given by the local government and its various agencies, and the full support of the China headquarters of Hipad Company, Hipad India was able to recover fast from this unfortunate incident. The damaged areas and equipment were repaired.

Twenty per cent production capacity of the unit, which had been impacted by the incident, returned to normal within about five days. The rest of the 80% production capacity, which had not been impacted, recovered the second day. Hence, normal operations were restored soon, and product delivery of downstream enterprises was carried out on schedule.

After the incident, the local government,

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Director Hipad Johnson Zhang with District Magistrate (DM) of Gautam Budh Nagar Brajesh Narain Singh, Superintendent of Police Sudha Singh and others

“

Under the care of Indian government and its local agencies, Hipad India wants to have long-term good business development in India, and take root in the local business environment

the local police station and the local Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) decided that joint cooperation by all departments would enable Hipad India to continue with its normal functioning. It was decided that for this purpose, Hipad will set up a special office at the factory premises immediately.

It was also decided that at the permanent joint office in the Hipad factory premises, representatives from the local police station, the local FRRO and Hipad India will hold monthly meetings. The policies of the company related to factory safety, employee stability and business advancement will be communicated to the employees on a regular basis. It was decided that this will be done to prevent the eruption of any abnormal situation,

“

and to properly handle all sensitive issues in advance.

Hipad India, along with Xiaomi India, OPPO India and other prominent Chinese mobile makers manufacture high-tech products for the Indian market. The company provides sizable employment opportunities. Hipad India absorbs a large number of colleges and universities graduates in India. With Hipad India, the qualified youth directly enter the field of new technology and the communication.

The company trains the local staff in technology, manufacturing technology and management skills. Hipad India is an influential law-abiding enterprise. It has received affirmation and praise from the Indian government many times. Hipad

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Mr Johnson Zhang, Director of Hipad India, performing pooja with other staff members on the second anniversary of the factory in Noida (above)

India is committed to the policy of ‘Make in India’.

The legitimate and lawful investment of Chinese companies in India has been duly recognized and affirmed by the Indian government. But a few employees with ulterior motives want to undermine this international cooperation. By doing

so, they have interfered with the major policies and principles of the Indian government. We appeal to the local government and the police department to keep extending their help to us so that we can create a normal business environment for the Indian government.

We also want to take strict action against

illegal activities that have repeatedly undermined the legitimate operations of Chinese companies in recent years.

Relevant departments of the Indian government have taken effective measures against the persons who tried to derail the work environment at Hipad.

They tried to incite other employees to go on strike and destroy company property.

Hipad India will completely cooperate with the local Indian authorities in dealing with the incident and carrying out proper investigation. Our common purpose is to create a harmonious business environment.

We will continue to cooperate and regularly communicate with the local authorities. We will work with the other Chinese companies in India to create a fair, safe, friendly and win-win business environment through cooperation between the Chinese and Indian governments.

Under the care of Indian government and its local agencies, Hipad India wants to have long-term good business development in India, and take root in the local business environment. We will also be in regular communication with the China aerospace science and industry group.

The China aerospace science and industry group will ask the Chinese government to work for a healthy friendship between the two countries, and secure the interests of the enterprise in India and also in China.

Hipad India will also work to keep the local Indian authorities, the major Chinese agencies based in India, Chinese officials and the headquarters of Hipad China informed regarding any relevant development. We will also ask the Chinese officials to urge the Indian government through various legal channels to effectively deal with the mischief-makers at the Hipad India campus.

It is important to take follow-up action regarding the incident and take all required measures in order to safeguard the friendly relations between the two governments. This is essential in order to protect the common interests of the enterprises and people of the two countries. 

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HIPAD WORKERS’ AGITATION

Hipad workers went on a rampage, damaged factory property Around 1,200 workers of Hipad Technology India pelted stones at the building and barged into the facility, disrupting work and damaging factory equipment NOIDA

H

undreds of employees of Hipad Technology India, a Chinese smartphone manufacturing facility, resorted to violence on Thursday after fears that about 200 of them had been “sacked without notice”, according to a report in The Wire.

Around 1,200 workers of the Hipad Technology India, which assembles and tests Xiaomi phones, went on a rampage, pelting stones at the building and barging into the facility in Sector 63, the report said. Police force was deployed at the site even as senior officers reached there to assess the situation.

Superintendent of Police, Noida City, Sudha Singh said police were alerted about the violence breaking out at the factory around 10 am and immediately reached the spot.

She said the police got to know that several employees had resorted to violence after fears that they had been ‘sacked’ by their office without any notice.

A police official said three to four people had been picked up for questioning over their alleged involvement in the violence. An official of the company told The Wire that they had intimated the vendor – the workers’ contractor – in advance about the changes. “Also, it is clearly mentioned in the terms and

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conditions of the contract that the company can reduce the number of workers without notice,” the official said.

The Labour Department officials who reached the unit in the afternoon said it appeared to be a case of “miscommunication” on the company’s part.

“Due to shortage of raw material, the company had asked the vendors to tell some employees not to come for work from Monday. But they continued to come to office, and the management today barred them from punching in (biometric entry). The vendor had possibly not informed the workers. That is why they

kept coming to work, which apparently led to this misunderstanding. The office asked them to leave the premises. The workers said they were not informed about the decision and were being sacked.

That is why they resorted to violence,” Assistant Labour Commissioner Harish Chandra Singh told Press Trust of India (PTI), according to The Wire report.

The vendors were not available at the site for clarification on the issue, said Harish Chandra Singh. He said the company claimed that it has engaged a neighbouring firm where it wanted to train these employees. But due to powerrelated issues, that could not happen immediately.

According to Harish Chandra Singh, the company said they did not directly inform the workers about the training program, but had informed the vendor about it. A private security guard at the unit said the morning shift workers had arrived at 8 am for work. The rampage began within two hours.

“They went inside and usually by 8.30 am they all set to work on the assembly line. But more than a thousand workers had gathered outside the main building around 9.45 am, and chaos ensued,” the guard said.

He also claimed that after the violence, several employees fled the building with mobile phones and other gadgets from the building.  (Courtesy The Wire)

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DATANG ENVIRONMENTAL INDUSTRY GROUP “Time for India to move towards “zero-defect and zero-effect” “Zero defect in production with Zero effect on the environment” “We serve in protecting the environment for future generation Join hands with us for better living world”

Only by observing the laws of nature can mankind avoid costly blunders in its exploitation. Any harm we inflict on nature will eventually return to haunt us. This is a reality we have to face.

“We, the present generation, have the responsibilities to act as a trustee of the rich natural wealth for the future generations. The issue is not merely about climate change it is about climate justice.”

President of China Mr. Xi Jinping

Prime Minister of India Sh. Narandra Modi

China Datang Corporation (CDT) is an extra-large scaled power generation enterprise group and is a solely state-owned corporation directly managed by the CPC Central Committee with the registered capital of USD 2.9 billion. By the end of 2014, CDT’s assets both in operation and construction are distributed in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions national wide with the total installed capacity of 140 GW, surpassing the threshold of 100,000MW to become an extra-large scaled power generation enterprise in the world. In 2015, CDT is listed as No.392 in Fortune Top 500 companies.

Datang Environmental Industry Group (DTEG) is specialized in FGD for DeSOx, SCR/SNCR & DeNOx technology and are in this business for last more than 10 years. DTEG entered in Indian market with its subsidiary company Datang Technology & Engineering India Ltd, registered in December 2013.

Businesses:

 DTEG – Specilized in Environmental Protection Services.  CDTE – CDT’s Overseas/Domestic project entity to provide comprehensive One-stop BOT/EPC (+F) services.  DTEI – CDTE’s Indian subsidiary to provide Environmental solution services in the areas of FGD, DeNOx & dust removal.

Datang Environmental Industry Group’s Major Achievements

• Completed installation of FGD for 183 units of Power plants of total 140 GW. • Completed installation of Denox for 153 units of Power plants of total 56900 MW. • DTEG has commissioned 1st FGD system in India of 600 MW unit of ILFS Power project of 2X600 MW at Cuddalore Tamilnadu.

• DTEG also has vast experience of operation and Maintenance of FGD system for many power plants in China.

“Committed to efficient generation of Power with sustainable form on Pollution Control” Datang Environmental Industry Group, China

Datang Technologies & Engineering India Pvt Ltd, India

No. 120 Zizhuyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 10097, P.R. (+86)10-58389999 (+86)10-58389810 www.cdte.com.cn

ICC-Nov-Dec 2018.indb 25

Room No. 2, 2nd Floor, Shreeram Bhuvan 772, Mumbai – 400014, Mb. +91 9910072333

November-December 2018 ▪

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INDIA-CHINA BALANCE OF TRADE

China looking at high quality agricultural products from India for import 26 ICC-Nov-Dec 2018.indb 26

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INDIA-CHINA BALANCE OF TRADE China actively negotiates Indian embargo on apples and pears  Rajni Shaleen Chopra

C

hina is actively pursuing the re-introduction of its apples and pears in the Indian market. In June 2017, India had imposed a ban on the import of Chinese pears and apples. The ban was imposed after Indian National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) detected Pseudococcus Comstocki, a destructive plant eating insect and fungus on several shipments of Chinese apples and pears.

China claims that it has taken multiple steps to address Indian concerns.

Chinese officials say that their farmers have taken measures to ensure that the Chinese apples and pears exported to India do not have the presence of any bugs or fungi, or harmful residual pesticide.

The Chinese embassy in New Delhi has undertaken several initiatives to reassure the Indian government about its export of apples and pears. China is keen that its apples and pears find a place in the Indian markets again.

The 2018 Global Agriculture and Food Summit was organized in Ranchi on November 29-30. At the China pavilion set up at the exhibition organized with the summit, local Indian farmers showed interest in Chinese apples and pears. The major questions of farmers at Chinese pavilion were whether the Chinese apples and pears can be grown locally, what kind of technology is needed to grow them, and the pricing of the fruits.

The Chinese delegation that visited the Ranchi summit included five Chinese apple and pear exporters. According to Chinese officials, the interest showed by Indian farmers and buyers at the China pavilion was a positive sign. It showed that the buyers and also the farmers

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are very keen on apples and pears from China, said Chinese officials.

Embassy officials said there were complicated reasons for the ban of Chinese apples and pears in Indian market. They said that several precautions were taken by the Chinese fruit growers to ensure that their products were as per the Indian standards and regulations.

Indian National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) had said that it would like to send a delegation to China to “visit and verify the production fields/ orchards, processing/packaging units of apples and pears and review the phytosanitary measures in place”.

Chinese apple, pear growers say required measures taken

According to information given by the Chinese embassy, Chinese apple exporters have taken measures to improve their fruit harvesting facility and also management of the fruit.

Mr Li Xianfeng, Manager of Shandong Rushan Pingfei Fruit and Vegetable Company Limited, a leading apple

exporter, said that their company has installed better and improved fruit packaging line in the workshop. This has been done so that there is no problem of insects in the export product.

The apple export association said it has taken measures to ensure that Chinese apples are able to enter the Indian market again. Mr Pan Dehui, Vice Chairman of China Fruit Marketing Association and President of Qixia Defeng Food Company Limited, said efforts have been taken to strengthen the comprehensive management of apple and pear export registered orchards and processing plants.

He said that export registered processing plants have improved the quality of fruit and developed pollution free fruits. Mr Dehui said that the fruit production process now strictly implements global agricultural norms.

Mr Dehui said that in addition to meeting the certification requirements of Chinese customs for export processing plants, the enterprise also strictly implements the requirements of ISO 9001 and GLOBAL GAP standards, fully meeting the

Pic courtesy The Financial Express

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standards of export to India.

Similar efforts are also being undertaken by pear exporters. Mr Zhao Xiaolei of Hebei Jinzhou Tianyang Trading Company Limited said that after Chinese pear was banned by India in 2017, the China customs authority conducted training for all pear export enterprises. Some pear exporters were asked to stop production for correction and improvement. Other pear exporting companies also utilized the time to conduct self-checks in the area of field production and processing in order to ensure that good practices were followed.

Ban imposed by India hit Chinese fruit growers hard

News reports from China had suggested that India had banned the import of apples from China for some other reasons.

Producereport.com, a Chinese website, reported last year: “Some analysts suggest constraints to China’s apple imports is a restrictive measure to halt the inrush of Chinese apples into Indian markets. Data suggests India imported approximately 170,000 tons of apples between October 2016 and April 2017— Chinese apples comprised 70% of those imports. In fact, India is the largest importer of Chinese apples. In 2016, China exported 125,000 tons of apples to India comprising more than half of India’s total apple imports.

According to this season’s predictions, India will import roughly 300,000 tons of apples, 200,000 of which will be imported from China.”

The Chinese may assume that the ban was imported for extraneous considerations. But the issue has led to serious concern in China. According to Indiaexportnews.com, the implications of the ban are far reaching for China. This is because India is the largest market for Chinese apple exports. The Indian market is not only large but also emergent. The volume of Chinese apple exports to India has steadily increased annually. In 2016, Chinese apple exports to India increased 392% compared to 2015 numbers.

Similarly, between January and May of

Rajni Shaleen Chopra is Executive Editor of the India China Chronicle

Total agricultural products exported from China to India in 2017 was 668.7 million US$, of which natural silk, apple, kidney bean, essential oil and spices ranked in the top five products. The export of two products, viz. natural silk and apple, was valued over 100 million US$. After the import of apples and pears from China was banned by India, the total export of agricultural products to India fell by 22 per cent

this year, apple exports to India grew more than 100%.

Over 50% of India’s apple import trade is commanded by Chinese apples, according to indiaexportnews.com. In 2016, India imported 240,000 tons of apples, of which 147,000 tons were from China. As for the pear trade, Chinese pears comprised 80% of India’s total pear import volume in 2016.

Indian had imposed the ban on Chinese apples and pears in June last year.

Freshplaza.com had reported that in the first few months, the ban would have little effect, because the Chinese apple

export season is coming to an end. The website stated that some exporters had finished their 2016-17 apple crop exports, while others had sent the last containers in May. Many Chinese fruit exporters were hopeful that India would lift the ban on apples and pears soon. Freshplaza.com spoke to an apple grower and exporter in Yantai, who said he was positive that the problem would be resolved by the start of the next season.

“China is a huge apple supplier to India, and the Indian government likely does not to want to upset the market. The

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INDIA-CHINA BALANCE OF TRADE

summer months are quiet months, and there remains enough time on both sides to solve this matter before the start of the next export season in September,” he had told freshplaza.com.

But all through 2018, India did not lift the ban on the import on Chinese apples and pears. The news report in freshplaza. com observed that as China’s domestic apple season approached, apple sales would come under great pressure unless the ban was lifted soon. The website also spoke to Mr Chao Junwen, the Secretary General of China Chamber of Commerce of Foodstuffs and Native Produce (CCCFNA), to share his analysis and predictions. Regarding the ban, Mr Junwen told freshplaza.com that both China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) and CCCFNA had been actively consulting with Indian officials to resolve the matter quickly and avoid the delay of exports. He informed the website that Chinese departments

had carried out negotiations with Indian officials. They had informed the Indian officials about quality reforms for Chinese exporters. They had also informed Indian officials that measures had been taken to ensure the elimination of harmful organisms on export products. China also invited Indian officials to send experts to carry out inspections of its pear and apple exports to reassure the government that the required steps had been taken to address the issue, said the news report on the website.

Mr Junwen told the website that

Chinese apple exports to India are mainly produced in the provinces of Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi and Gansu.

The apple season in these regions is ushered in during the second half of each year. Indian markets primarily demand apples with a diameter of 70-75mm—a variety not in demand by other countries.

Mr Junwen told freshplaza.com that with the current embargo in place, the sale of these apples would suffer greatly. The price per ton of Chinese apples reportedly dropped by 100 USD immediately following the ban.

The Chinese embassy in New Delhi has undertaken several initiatives to reassure the Indian government about its export of apples and pears. China is keen that its apples and pears find a place in the Indian markets again

Representatives from China, Morocco, Tunisia, Israel and Mongolia take part in Momentum Jharkhand Global Agriculture Food Summit 2018 organized by World Bank at Tana Bhagat Indoor Stadium at Khelgaon Premises in Ranchi, Jharkhand

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Smuggling of Chinese apples continued despite ban Guwahati was worried over ‘harmful’ Chinese apples News report carried by the Times of India, July 1, 2018

F

ears of banned Chinese Fuji apples, containing harmful pest having inundated the local markets, has led to panic among fruit lovers in the city.

Most of this panic – perhaps not unfounded – was occasioned by the seizure of 350 cartons of shiny Chinese apples weighing 6300 kg by customs officials last week. The value of the seized consignment was reportedly Rs 12,60,00. The fruits were being transported illegally from Myanmar via Imphal.

The consignment was seized at the inter-state bus terminus at Guwahati.

Repeated tests had revealed that these fruits carry harmful pests after which India suspended import of apples and pears from China last year. The fungicide used for ripening these apples, known as Urbacid or Tuzet, can cause skin rashes besides leading to other illnesses. The Chinese government has also proposed banning pesticides containing Urbacid due to their high content of toxic arsine. Farmers in Yantai and Qixia province of China reportedly keep these apples covered with bags coated with this fungicide, for a period of five months, until the fruit ripens.

Meenakshi Baruah, a dietitian, told TOI, “Research has found that the growing of Fuji apples in paper bags coated with fungicide is an unhealthy practice which causes problems in people who consume these fruits.”

A customs official said, “Though import of these apples is suspended, they are smuggled into the city as many fruit sellers place orders for them.”

Explaining the modus operandi of the fruit smugglers, customs sources added, “All these apples have entered India through Moreh market in Manipur. These smugglers send the consignments on long-distance night buses from Imphal to Guwahati. After reaching the bus terminus here, unknown agents here offload them and take them to their respective destinations. There is a huge demand for these apples among fruit distributors in Fancy Bazar.”

The bus drivers and handymen involved in the smuggling racket charge a commission from carrying and distributing the apples. “Since these are fruits, no one suspects that transporting or distributing them could be illegal,” sources added.

Indian market highly lucrative space for China China is aggressively promoting the export of its apples, pears and pomegranates through the Agricultural Trade Promotion Center (ATPC), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA). The huge Indian market is a highly lucrative space for China’s fruit.

Globally, China is the largest producer of apples, with USA at the second position.

Exports of apples, pears and other fruits to India helps develop China’s rural income, increases farmers’ income and also promotes Chinese agri-trade.

At present, the export of fruits and vegetables from China to India is very small, when compared to the production capacity in China and the local demand in India. Fruits and fruit products imported from China include fresh fruits, fruit juice, processed fruits and canned fruits, with total value of 20 million US dollars from January to September 2018.

Fruit juice from China is the biggest product in this category, valued at 11 million US dollars. According to information given by the Chinese embassy, fresh and frozen fruits, mainly orange, grape, plum and apricot and strawberry are exported to India with a total value of 4.32 million. Processed fruits are valued at 4 million US dollars, and canned fruits of 84000 US$.

Vegetables from China to India for the same period are valued 8.74 million US dollars. The major varieties included processed tomato (2.98 million US$), vegetable seeds(1.33 million US$), dry hot pepper (0.62 million US$), dry garlic (0.68 million US$), ginger (0.49 million US$), dry mushroom (0.44 million US$) and processed mushroom (0.46 million US$). Other processed vegetables exported from China to India include water chestnut, bamboo shoots, sweet corn, black mushroom, dry onion.

Total value of business in rupees

Total agricultural products exported from China to India in 2017 was 668.7

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INDIA-CHINA BALANCE OF TRADE million US$, of which natural silk, apple, kidney bean, essential oil and spices ranked in the top five products. The export of two products, viz. natural silk and apple, was valued over 100 million US$.

After the import of apples and pears from China was banned by India, the total export of agricultural products to India fell by 22 per cent. The top Chinese agricultural exports to India are now cotton, dry bean (not including soybean), and fruits (0.238 million US$ down 84% of 2017).

Chinese apples first entered the India market in 1998 with business value of 8000 US$. Exports expanded in 2007 with total value of 15 million US$. In 2010, the export of Chinese apples and pears to India further expanded to over 55 million US$. The peak year for Chinese apples and pears was 2016, with 149 million US$ of apple export from China to India.

Pear is the third largest fruit grown in China, after apples and oranges.

They are widely planted in in more than 20 provinces of China. In 2016, China planted over 1 million of hectares of pears, with a total output of 19.3 million tons, making it the world’s largest producer.

As the origin center of pears, China is rich in pear varieties, with more than 3000 varieties of preserved resources.

Cultivated varieties include white pear, sand pear, qiuzi pear, Xinjiang pear and western pear. Over 130 varieties are used for daily production.

China keen to buy high quality farm products from India

According to a news report in Economic Times, China is also keen to buy high quality farm products from India. The report, published in December 2018, said that China is keen to import pomegranate, grapes, soyameal, fish oil and fish meal from India, in addition to non-basmati rice and sugar that it had decided to buy earlier. The report said that Beijing will send teams to inspect pomegranate and grape orchards, and soy processing units as precursors to the import process.

Economic Times said that in a meeting

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DESTINATION CHINA: INDIAN MANGOES

Image courtesy: The Times of India

The export of fruits and vegetables from China to India is very small, when compared to the production capacity in China and the local demand in India. Fruits and fruit products imported from China include fresh fruits, fruit juice, processed fruits and canned fruits, with total value of 20 million US dollars

held with Chinese vice minister Hu Wei, India also pushed for exporting okra, sapota (chikoo), milk and bovine meat to China. Beijing made a case for New Delhi to resume imports of milk and dairy products, apples and pears.

“To achieve balance of trade, they are looking at high quality agricultural products and have agreed to look positively at India’s demands,” said an Indian official, according to the ET report. India’s exports to China touched $33 billion in 2017-18, while imports from China stood at $76.2 billion.

ET said that dairy products from Beijing were suspended in 2008 since melamine was found in these items. Now,

China is willing to buy caseinate (milk protein) from India in exchange for its milk and dairy products. “India is looking for China’s support on exporting okra, sapota (chikoo), milk and bovine meat to it. China is interested in our mango and rapeseed,” according to the Indian official quoted by ET. China had stopped buying bovine meat from India on fears of foot-and-mouth disease epidemic. Despite India getting a clearance from OIE, World Organization for Animal Health, China had insisted on inspection by its own officials. It also wants India to resume imports of apples and pears. Repeated tests had found pests in the incoming shipments. 

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Ambassador on the Delhi Metro Chinese Ambassador Mr Luo Zhaohui seems to be taking his job of learning about India’s development and politics quite seriously. In December, he and his wife, along with a group of embassy colleagues and their families took the metro from Udyog Bhawan to Noida Sector 16. They visited the National Place for Dalit Inspiration and Green Garden, which was built during the stint of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati as Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

Mr Zhaohui later tweeted photographs of the visit and called it a ‘rare experience’.

The news brief appeared in The Indian Express on December 11, 2018

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INDIAN YOUTH POWERED BY MANDARIN

Tsinghua University The India Connection Adventures of a Pretty Woman in China

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 Milky Jain Kamdar

A

different language is a different vision of life, said Federico Fellini. I discovered new worlds and new vision courtesy Mandarin.

I came to Mumbai in the monsoon of 2013 after I got married. I hail from an old city of India called Indore, situated in the heart of this vast country. When I moved to Mumbai, my husband came up with this unusual plan that I should study a foreign language. The idea was excellent, but I was not aware which language did he have for me in his mind. His suggestion – I should learn Mandarin. My initial response wasn’t particularly encouraging.

Even the thought of learning Mandarin bewildered me, and I resisted his advice.

But he insisted. In hindsight, I would add – fortunately. Little did I know that his insistence would take me to the most amazing journey of my life, and the most wonderful experiences.

I joined the KJ Somaiya Centre for Buddhist Studies, where I was introduced to Prof. Dr. Satyendra Upadhyay. Within a few days, I discovered that Sir put in great efforts to impart quality education to his students. We were encouraged to learn the language like it was one of our own languages. I was part of the class for two years, and I was pleased with the progress I made, courtesy the excellent coaching given to us by Prof.

Satyendra and the positive attitude of my class-mates.

of words will ever be sufficient to express my gratitude to her. Her recommendation, along with Sir’s reference, put me in a good position to win the scholarship program. And my happy dream came true. Time seemed to fly, and soon I saw myself in the classroom of the prestigious Tsinghua University.

Challenging days at university My first week at the university was challenging, to say the least. I was in a completely new environment with a host of different people from different nations.

To be honest, this was my first experience of this kind. I faced difficulty in communicating with the locals. Even though I managed to speak some Mandarin, my accent was strange for them, and they could not follow what I said. To make

Kathak opens gates to a new life

The kathak performance that changed my life At the cultural program organized by the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Mumbai, Prof. Satyendra asked me to perform Kathak, a classical Indian dance form. Fortunately for me, my dance performance happened to impress the Consul General of P.R.C and his wife. After the exchange of a few emails and probably after assessing my inclination for Mandarin, Ma’am Li Fanghui recommended my candidature to the China Scholarship Council. No amount

matters worse, my vocabulary was limited, and I could not follow the local accent either. Communicating with people around became a daily challenge.

In the midst of this confusion, I took the placement test with the university. I was advised to go to the pre-intermediate level, but I refused. I wanted my foundation to be much stronger than it was. I decided to start with the basic level at the university, and began classes.

My decision turned out to be correct.

The coaching here was far better tailored to the needs of new-comers, as compared to the basic level of teaching in India. The training gave me a solid foundation, and firmed up my basics in Mandarin.

My class had students from Australia, Mongolia, Thailand, Japan, USA and many other countries. I found that they all had different reasons to pursue Mandarin. Some were intrigued by the language. Some had Chinese lineage.

Some, like me, had chosen this language for better career prospects. Soon, from classmates we became good friends. One of my closest friends was a Japanese girl named Nami. Betse Ba, another good friend, was from Mongolia. We use to often go out together. My best memories of going around Beijing are with Nami and Betse Ba. It was fascinating to see a completely new city with completely new friends.

With Aamir Khan at the launch of The Secret Superstar in China

With my background in classical Indian dance and contemporary Bollywood dance, I planned to join some dance groups on the campus. I started meeting the students in some of these dance groups. It made me very happy to see how welcoming they were towards me.

This was the first time when dance groups on the campus had come across a woman with professional knowledge of a classical Indian dance form, and contemporary Bollywood dance. They loved interacting with me about both these dance forms, and this made me feel special.

Bollywood films were increasingly

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INDIAN YOUTH POWERED BY MANDARIN reographed for them. My stay in China had started getting beautiful.

Soon, it was time for tests and the examinations. Like all other students, I too wasn’t fully prepared for them.

I strived to learn. I wanted to master the language and prove to myself that nothing is tough if I work really hard for it. I started studying for up to 12 hours a day, and abandoned all entertainment for about 20 days. Finally, I took the exams, and the results surprised us all. I had scored a superb 80 per cent. The teachers appreciated my hard work and were proud of me. I was happy with my score. But where my stay in China was concerned, I wanted to keep on trying newer things. I hoped to achieve something substantially beyond academics. Something in me said that I must not stop at excellence in academics alone. Soon, the second semester awaited me.

“

Fluent in Mandarin finally!

I was asked to tutor some Chinese youth to dance on Bollywood songs. I had a group of 11 Tsinghua students who were interested in dancing on Bollywood numbers, wearing Indian clothes and accessories. I started training them for their Annual Day, which was to be held at the Grand Auditorium

getting popular in Beijing. The Chinese were mesmerized by the vibrant, colourful dances in Bollywood movies. Soon word spread across various student groups that an Indian woman on the campus was adept at contemporary Bollywood dance.

To my great surprise, I was asked to tutor some Chinese youth to dance on Bollywood songs. This was turning to be a surreal experience. I had a group of 11 Tsinghua students who were interested in dancing on Bollywood numbers, wearing Indian clothes and accessories.

I started training them for their Annual Day, which was to be held at the Grand Auditorium. The event was hugely popular, and a huge number of students would come to see it. I was tense but also excited

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“

to teach my first set of Chinese students some great Bollywood dance moves.

I was amused to see that the students were hugely excited too. Their excitement levels were much higher than those of my dance students in India. Their anticipation of a great performance motivated me all the more. The end result was fantastic. The smiles of the performers and the cheers of the large audience were testimony to the great performance. To my total surprise, I was called on the stage and introduced to the crowd as the group’s Indian dance teacher. It was an honour that cannot be expressed in words. I will always be grateful to my team of students for showing confidence in me, and believing in the act that I cho-

During the winter break my husband Pinank Kamdar visited me. We had planned to visit Harbin. The conditions were extreme, but we were up for the challenge. Until that trip, we had only read about temperature ranging from -25 degrees to -30 degrees Celsius. And now, we were facing it! Our hands turned blue the moment we removed the three layers of gloves. We could not sustain for more than 30 minutes in the open. It was difficult to find vegetarian food, and there were some other hiccups too, but we managed somehow. It was easy for us to get by, because I could speak better Mandarin. People understood my accent.

This was the real test, and I believe I did well. I could see the pride in my husband’s eyes when he heard me speak and solve problems in Mandarin. I felt as if he once again fell in love with me. This trip to the north turned out to be more sweet than anticipated.

Once I was back from Harbin, the routine of the academic life on the campus began again. The formalities for the second semester did not take much time or effort. With some consultation and guidance from Prof. Satyendra, I had decided

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My Tsinghua student in Indian attire for the Gala Night

to advance to the pre-intermediate level.

This was a massive jump, but what is life without some challenge?

I soon realized that the course was far more demanding than I had thought, but I did not get disheartened. I continued to work hard till I reached a level that I considered good. I worked hard till I thought I was finally at a comfortable level with the language. And finally, there came a time when Mandarin and I came to terms with each other. I felt satisfied.

As my course progressed my circle of friends widened. My network started becoming stronger. An Indian friend on the campus introduced me to the job of a Teaching Assistant (TA). I was selected.

It was an amazing opportunity, where I had to interact with my Chinese friends in English for some hours in a week. In the process, I tried to get better at Mandarin, and also learn more about Chinese culture from them. My Chinese friends enjoyed these sessions with me, and so did I. They gave fantastic feedback to my seniors about our interactions. But the joy was short-lived. As per the rules

Koreans and me - the winner teams

“

I acted with Wang Bao Qiang in my first film. I also met the one and only Jackie Chan. I often felt as if I was in some beautiful dream

of the university, one can take up the TA job only if one is a Masters student.

Unfortunately, I was not. I was asked to discontinue. That was one of my saddest moments in China.

New adventures with TinTin During this time, I met a Chinese called TinTin. He is a teacher, and taught Mandarin to students like me outside the classroom. TinTin was associated with a company called Pandarin. The company is a web and app based start-up, which imparts Mandarin training in many countries. When I got associated with them, they were about to start a training module for students in Seoul, South Korea. They were also working towards raising some funds from possible investors.

“

This made them participate in the CCTV reality show titled ‘We are the Hero’.

I found their idea brilliant. They have tremendous potential across the globe.

Since the group wanted to participate in a reality show, they asked me to join them on the show as well. I got a golden chance to showcase my language skills and dance on Chinese national TV. It turned out to be a phenomenal experience. My tutor-cum-friend TinTin helped me a lot, and my appearance on the show was hugely appreciated. I danced well, and people were amazed to find that I spoke fluent Mandarin too. I felt ecstatic.

When the reality show got over, I started preparing for the annual show titled Tsinghua’s Got Talent. I was determined to showcase my dance on this

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INDIAN YOUTH POWERED BY MANDARIN stood second in the competition, and the Korean group had stood first.

I was somewhat disappointed, for I had lost the first position by a whisker.

But the disappointment did not last long.

My fellow Indian students were ecstatic.

And students from all parts of the campus started congratulating me. I felt on the top of the world.

The tailor-made role

With former Consul General of China in Mumbai Mr Zheng Xiyuan, Ma’am Li Fanghui, retired Chinese basketball star Yao Ming and others

“

At the cultural program organized by the ConsulateGeneral of the People’s Republic of China in Mumbai, I performed Kathak, a classical Indian dance form. My dance performance impressed the Consul General of P.R.C. Mr Zheng Xiyuan and his wife Ma’am Li Fanghui.

She recommended my candidature to the China Scholarship Council

“

platform. It would be a matter of great pride for me and also for all the Indians on the campus. Some said I was the first Indian ever to participate in the talent show. That sounded so good!

I sailed through the qualifying rounds without major difficulty. After I reached the final round, I was asked to team up with the best dance group on the campus.

This group had students who were originally from South Korea. We decided to perform on a mix of the two sides – K Pop and Bollywood. Bollywood and K Pop combined to rock Tsinghua’s Got Talent. We practiced for hours together to deliver the best. I was euphoric about the fact that I was only Indian participating

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in the talent show. My Indian friends expected so much from me. As did the Korean group. And finally, the big day was here.

I dressed up in the traditional Indian attire for dance. The judges loved my look.

They said I looked very pretty. That felt good. I felt I didn’t deserve that praise, as there were many other beautiful people there. But who doesn’t like praise?

At the show, I danced to K-Pop and the Korean group swayed to a Bollywood blockbuster song. The combo made the crowd go mad. The group and I were sure of a podium finish, but we wondered what would be our individual positions. When the results were out, we found that I had

We students were fortunate to meet Consul General Zheng Xiyuan and Ma’am Li Fanghui in Beijing during a dinner party.

We were introduced to several people from various spheres of life. A couple of days after the dinner party, I got a call from a production house which working on the film titled Buddies in India. For a while I thought it was a prank. The group wanted me to work in Chinese film about India and Indians. The demands for the character were simple. The character had to know Mandarin and also some dancing. The role seemed tailor made for me.

This was the ultimate high point of my Chinese stay. I was to act with the likes of Wang Bao Qiang in my first film.

It seemed too good to be true. I often felt as if I was in some beautiful dream.

I was called for various auditions. The competition was fierce, but with the grace of God I was selected.

One fine day, I was asked to attend the Ornamental Column Award along with Wang Bao Qiang. My friend Mayela, Wang Bao Qiang and I were to walk the prestigious red carpet. And we did.

What an experience! Those arch lights, cameras, those smiles – some fake and some real. Those heels, those tuxedos, those dresses. It all seemed surreal. I come from a fairly modest background.

Finding myself in that arena was in itself a big thing. And here I was attending one as a guest of honour! This is a tale I will tell my grandchildren.

I did not think things could get better, but they did! The icing on the cake was meeting the one and only Jackie Chan.

Yes! The real Jackie Chan! I might not have met Shah Rukh Khan in person, but I have met one of the greatest Kung-Fu

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Walking on the red carpet

With Jackie Chan

and martial arts superstars in the world.

What an honour! I just cannot describe how the whole evening went. It was probably the best evening of my entire life, after that beautiful, blissful evening of my marriage reception party.

Speaking about marriage, I also attended a traditional Chinese wedding in Linfen in Shanxi province. I witnessed so many different rituals, customs and traditions that I could probably write a page or two on that experience alone.

Courtesy the movie shooting, I could not take the final exams for my second semester. The dates clashed, and I had to choose one of them. I chose to shoot for the movie. For the test, my target was revised. I gave the HSK4 and scored a humble 73 per cent. The score wasn’t bad, I thought, considering I did not have enough time for preparation.

The China treasure So many varied experiences, so many stories. I can continue for a long time.

Life today isn’t what it was when I was awarded the scholarship. An academic year in China has opened new worlds for me. The worlds that I had not ever imagined or planned. I am indebted to

Shooting for the movie

Movie promotion - posing for the media

Consul General of China in Mumbai Mr Zheng Xiyuan, Ma’am Fanghui, Prof.

Satyendra and others, without whose support I would not have achieved what I have achieved. I would like to thank my room-mate, my friend for life, my sister, my partner in most of the crimes (if I may call them so) – Vaibhavi Shukla. We were there with each through thick and the thin, through the highs and the lows, through the dark and the light. This one year in China has brought us close like we have been buddies since ages. Thank you little one. And my love and gratitude

for my husband Pinank Kamdar, whose insistence that I learn Mandarin made this all happen.

Finally, I would like to thank Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research (SIMSR) and The Consulate General for giving me this once-in-a-life opportunity of studying abroad. This experience has made me a different person.

It has changed my way of living, thinking and functioning. I hope this streak of wonderful fortune stays with me as long as I am associated with this wonderful language called Mandarin. 

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CELEBRATIONS KUNMING, YUNNAN

Big Fat

Indian Wedding in China

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among the favourite travel destinations for Indian tourists visiting China. The city's proximity to India rules out travel fatigue caused by jet lag. The flight to Kunming takes two and a half hours from Kolkata, and four hours from New Delhi.

In the second week of December, the Kolkata-based Siddha Group held grand ceremonies full of pomp and show in Kunming, the spring city of western China. The event was the weddings of Mr Samyak Jain, son of Mr Chandra Prakash Jain, and Mr Aayushman Jain, son of Mr Sanjay Jain, all of the Siddha Group, the established real estate developer.

The family members on the groom’s side wore pink turbans, while the family members on the bridegroom’s side wore

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yellow turbans. Snapshots from the wedding, which seemed like a fairytale fantasy, went viral.

For the Chinese, the weddings turned out to be a most lavish Indian carnival on the streets of Kunming. The IIC Official WeChat account quoted the hotel staff as saying that the weddings were more fun than one could imagine. “As long as there is music, as long as there is rhythm, whether in the lobby or in the restaurant or on the road, men, women and children will dance like a Chinese movie. On the way to picking up relatives, there was also a wonderful ceremony of mixing Chinese and Indian people. The dragon and lion dance team from Kunming joined the dance and made the Indian guests

India is known around the world for destination weddings. But when Indians chose China for their destination wedding, it created a buzz online

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he Chinese social media was abuzz in December with the grand Indian wedding celebrations organized in Kunming, the capital city of China's ethnically diverse Yunnan province. Photographs of the big fat Indian wedding went viral over the Chinese social media.

The Indian diaspora was thrilled that a Hindustani shaadi, complete with our traditional dhol, baaja (Indian drums, musical instruments) and colour had chosen the beautiful Kunming as the city for the destination wedding. Photographs and short text on the wedding were cheerfully shared by IIC Official (Indians in China) over WeChat.

Kunming is popular as the 'the city of eternal spring' due to spring-like weather across the year. IIC’s WeChat group said: “India is well known around the world for destination weddings but when Indians choose China for their destination wedding, it creates the buzz online.”

IIC proudly announced that Kunming shares a special bond with India, and is

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CELEBRATIONS KUNMING, YUNNAN

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This wedding showcased how Kunming, with its amazing climate, has become an emerging destination for overseas weddings in Southeast Asia

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happy,” said the report by IIC Official.

The wedding celebrations lasted for several days. IIC said creative teams from Singapore and Thailand came together and worked with the staff of Kunming’s Intercontinental Hotel to organize the dream wedding extravaganza.

During the wedding celebrations, the hotel looked like the setting for a lavish Bollywood blockbuster. The Chinese were amazed by the dozens of layouts designed for the wedding, and daily updates to keep pace with the designer themes of the celebrations. The integration of Indian and Chinese elements in the wedding was made lively by the dragon and lion dance team, steps of stilts and peacock dances.

According to IIC, there were more than 1,000 guests for the wedding. The staff hired to organize the wedding included about 400 people in the planning and executive team from India, Singapore, Thailand, the Intercontinental Hotel of Kunming, and a whole battalion of chefs.

The raw material for the food served during the wedding celebrations and also the cooking utensils were brought from India to Kunming. A team of nine chefs from the InterContinental Hotels Group assisted the team of Indian chefs for take

care of dining needs during the wedding celebrations. In addition to Indian dishes, the hotel served Italian cuisine for the enjoyment of the guests.

A spokesperson of InterContinental Hotel, Kunming, said this was not just any wedding for the spring city. “This wedding showcased how Kunming, with its amazing climate, has become an emerging destination for overseas weddings in Southeast Asia, and among the favourite for wedding destinations.”

In addition to the Indian-style drums called dhol, Chinese drums added the local flavor to the wedding. The Indian and Chinese drums played together and created delightful music. As per reports in the Chinese social media, around 20 Million RMB was spend on this wedding carnival. (The official currency in China is the Renminbi (RMB or CNY) or in Chinese Ren-min-bi.) 

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Former Kolkata Consul General played key role in organizing grand Indian wedding extravaganza in China

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he lavish Indian destination wedding was organized in Kunming, western China, following the consistent efforts of Mr Ma Zhanwu, former Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Kolkata. Speaking to India China Chronicle, Mr Zhanwu said he was happy that the destination Indian wedding organized in Kunming was hugely loved by everybody.

“I finished my term in Kolkata and left India in late October 2018, but I feel proud that the efforts we made have borne fruit. The wedding was very successful and has contributed to exchanges and cooperation between China and eastern India. The family members of the grooms and the brides were very happy. They were also highly thankful for the assistance given to them by China.

This is the first grand Indian wedding held in China. Its success will encourage other Indians to consider China, especially Yunnan, as a favoured destination for holding weddings,” said Mr Zhanwu.

China and India are both major developing countries with long histories and large populations. Mr Zhanwu said the Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Kolkata was inaugurated in September 2008. He said that the friendly exchanges and cooperation in various fields between China and the five states of India in their consular district, namely, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar were steadily developing and deepening, courtesy the efforts of the Kolkata Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China.

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OVERSEAS TALENT EFFORTS BY HOME NATIONS

Influx of Returnees and Policy towards Talents

More Places Where Dreams can Come True

 Jiawen Ye

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hina and India have the largest overseas student populations in the world.

In 2017, the number of Chinese students pursuing advanced studies abroad tipped over the 600,000 mark for the first time, while the number of international Indian

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students reached more than 350,000.

This is a huge pool of resource that the two countries want to tap into for the purpose of domestic social and economic development.

At present, both China and India are embracing a peak of returnees back into their home countries. Improving economic conditions, changing social and living environment, and a favourable policy that is welcoming of talented overseas

students – these have combined to create conditions where dreams of potential returnees can be realized back in their own countries. However, the quantity and quality of top versatile talents in the two countries are still far from expectations.

Hence both China and India continue to actively promote policies to attract overseas talents, which in the long run will benefit the development of the two countries in ways more than just economic.

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What drives the youth to seek overseas experience The number of students with high academic qualifications in India and China has increased dramatically in the past few decades. In China, initiatives like Project 985 and Project 211 have been successful in nurturing top quality higher-education institutions with international reputation and credibility. This continuous support by the government has helped Chinese universities to mature, resulting in an increased output of students with a Masters degree. The Indian government also has put into practice several ideas to cultivate a larger talent base for socioeconomic development. Take for instance the world-famous Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), which have established a global reputation of providing high quality education.

Even though the increasing local choices have provided an impetus to the quality of domestic education in these countries, it has yet to meet the massive and growing demand. The youth unemployment rate in both countries continues to remain very high. According to a survey by World Bank, unemployed youth (% of total labor force for ages between 15-24) in China has seen an almost linear growth, from 9.6 per cent in 2010 to 10.8 per cent in 2017. The parallel comparison with India also shows an increasing trend, from 10.1 per cent in 2010 to 10.5 per cent in 2017.

The working conditions in the two countries continue to be far removed from expectations of university graduates. Most of these graduates can expect to find a job that just meets their basic needs, leaving little as expendable income. In India, 93% of the workforce is afflicted by these conditions. Even a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) cannot guarantee a high salary. Graduates of 37% business schools were on average offered only Rs 3 lakh per year.

A survey by MyCos in 2017 showed that the average salary of Chinese college students is only about 588 US dollars.

Facing such a severe competitive employ-

Jiawen Ye studies at Centre for Indian Studies, School of International Relations & Public Affairs, Shanghai International Studies University

The Indian government also has put into practice several ideas to cultivate a larger talent base for socio-economic development. Take for instance the world-famous Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), which have established a global reputation of providing high quality education

ment environment, a few Chinese college students seek the so-called “slow employment”. This means that they suspend employment temporarily in order to find a better, well-paying job.

Overseas degree seen as ticket to success

To escape these conditions of high rates of youth unemployment and poor out-ofcollege working conditions, many Chinese students seek a foreign university degree with hopes of better opportunities. According to a report by Center for China and Globalization (CCG), while

Chinese undergraduates constitute the main group among those who study abroad, the growth rate of secondary school students studying abroad is higher than that of universities. For many of these students, studying abroad is essentially a way of arming themselves for the domestic market.

Compared with Chinese undergraduates who account for the largest number of overseas students, Indian students who go abroad are mostly post-graduates, with undergraduates accounting for a very small number. And unlike Chinese students who depend on financial

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OVERSEAS TALENT EFFORTS BY HOME NATIONS The students may also face ‘push factors’ like unfavorable foreign economic situation or Visa-related hardships in foreign countries. Government policies aimed at attracting overseas students is yet another reason for these students to return.

Framing policies to attract home talent

Seeking jobs, Lockin China

Like the Chinese students, Indian students seeking a foreign degree see it as an instrument of advantage in the domestic market. Over the last few decades, China has invested heavily in molding world-class universities. It has now built capacity for post-graduate study in most academic fields

support from family, many Indian students and their families opt to take hefty education loans.

Like the Chinese students, Indian students seeking a foreign degree see it as an instrument of advantage in the domestic market. Over the last few decades, China has invested heavily in molding world-class universities. It has now built capacity post-graduate study in most academic fields.

Indian universities, still saddled with limited resources, haven’t been able to establish themselves as world-class research universities. This in turn is

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making bright and aspirational students seek greener pastures abroad in search of better opportunities.

Indian and Chinese students both consider a foreign degree as an instrument that will provide them with some form of leverage over their peers who only possess domestic degrees. After completion of degree, many of these students stay abroad and work, while some choose to return back to their countries. The reasons underpinning their decisions to return range can be ‘pull factors’ like domestic opportunities, familial relationships, emotional and cultural factors.

China and India have suffered because of a high rate of brain drain. Hence the most fundamental question faced by a policy aimed at overseas talent is whether you can attract them, keep them, and offer them a productive career and environment. These challenges range from relatively less attractive domestic environments in comparison to foreign economies where these students are stationed.

To meet these challenges, both China and India have shown great concern and have taken several steps to help their overseas talent to build bridges to their home countries.

For many years, China has been rolling out several policy initiatives to bring back its talented overseas students, especially entrepreneurs and successful scientific researchers. In 2008, with an intention to scout for top talent, the central government began The Recruitment Program of Global Experts, called the ‘Talented People’s Coordination Group of the Central Government’.

In 2017, the group announced that 944 people were scouted as part of the 13th batch of the program, with a selection rate of 16.5%. So far, these scientists are tasked with not merely carrying out their research. They are expected to take on the responsibility for cultivating outstanding young talent, promote a scientific research environment locally, and reform the domestic higher education system. Other such initiatives include The Changjiang (Yangtze River) Scholar award of the Ministry of Education (started in 1998), The Hundred Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (started in 1994) and The National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (started in 1994). These programs

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have increasingly attracted top Chinese talent back into the country.

Following in these footsteps, many government departments, central as well as local, continue to introduce talent scouting programs with hopes of bringing back Chinese overseas talent to meet the needs of its various provinces and cities. The uncoordinated nature of these programs has led to competition among regions for getting their hands on the best talents. Since returnees value the working as well as living environment, regions that are able to handsomely provide for both become far more attractive to prospective returnees. Take for example the stiff competition between the financial city of Shanghai and its neighboring Zhejiang Province. Both these regions have industries in sectors like new energy, bio-medicine and other modern service industries, for which they seek to attract overseas Chinese talent. Both regions provide a one-time subsidy of 1 million yuan to returnees. But Shanghai has proved to be far more popular for the overseas talent coming back home, than Zhejiang province.

Shanghai also has higher standards for a household registration permit (Hukou in Chinese). Tier-II cities, on the contrary, have a relatively open policy for overseas students and are also seen as a destination with great potential for future growth.

Indian and Chinese students both consider a foreign degree as an instrument that will provide them with some form of leverage over their peers who only possess domestic degrees. After completion of degree, many of these students stay abroad and work, while some choose to return back to their countries

Efforts by India to attract diaspora

India does not have programs that are as strong as the ones in China to attract its overseas student population. Rather, its initiatives are aimed at its huge diaspora. In recent years, under the current BJP-led government, India has undertaken several steps to attract this very resourceful diaspora. In 2014, the Ministry of External Affairs announced the Know India Programme for the Indian diaspora aged between 18 and 30 years to facilitate their return to India. In 2015, the formerly People of Indian Origin (POI) cards were merged with the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards to better serve

Indians with foreign citizenship, and provide them with some benefits enjoyed by Indian citizens. The new OCI card has a lifelong visa validity and doesn’t require a check for more than 180 days in local stations, thus attracting across-the-board overseas citizens, ranging from the rich individuals to the working class.

It was decided that investments by OCI cards holders would no longer be considered Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Instead, Domestic investment rules would apply to them. In essence, their investments would not be capped in sectors that are otherwise closed to

foreign investors. In a speech in 2017 to NRIs in the US, Prime Minister Modi presented a highly optimistic outlook of India. He assured the diaspora that the government was working to create a better environment for non-resident Indians to return and contribute to India’s economic growth.

The Indian diaspora is also encouraged to actively participate in development programs proposed by the Indian government like Start Up India, Stand Up India, Invest India, and other such programs. With the help of the diaspora in the form of remittances, and

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OVERSEAS TALENT EFFORTS BY HOME NATIONS

JobsForHer hosts RestartHer, India's largest conclave for women returning to the workforce

also through entrepreneurial support to the service sector, India has managed to establish itself among the world-leaders in business process outsourcing. This makes India a destination of interest for highly-skilled workers from abroad.

India, unlike China, does not have any Hukou policy to control population inside its cities. Hence, Indian returnees have the mobility that is solely linked to their work potential. The unlimited restriction of talent inflow, together with booming satellite cities and new changes in cities like Gurgaon, Navi Mumbai and Pune, are leading to a endogenous rapid growth.

Long way to go

The governments of China and India have shown an open-arm policy to draw overseas talent. They have warmly welcomed their overseas talent back home.

However, there are still several obstacles for those who want to come back. These include recognition of international technical certificates, children’s education subsidies, retirement insurance and tax

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Shanghai Zhangjiang High-tech Park, Sina news

subsidies for entrepreneurs.

Take the example of students who study medicine overseas. Between 2012 to 2016, only 16% of Indians who studied medicine abroad passed the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination conducted by the Medical Council of India.

In China, students with overseas license have to take the Examination of Medical Practitioners. To facilitate an easy process of return and stem the brain drain, it is important that governments relax standards where possible.

Lessons can be learned from Japan. In 1997, almost 300 Japanese universities

relaxed their entrance requirement for returnees. This allowed a high number of well-trained overseas Japanese to return and contribute to the Japanese economy.

There is much that India and China need to achieve despite the impressive economic growth in the past few decades.

The 2018 Global SDG Index – measuring the overall performance of countries – ranked China 54 and India 112 out of a total of 156 countries. To improve performance, both these countries clearly need diverse expertise. Having an open and positive policy towards overseas talent could add to that effort.

China and India have deeply valued the return of their overseas talent.

Programs such as The Recruitment Program of Global Experts by China and the Pravisi Bharatiya Divas of India is a way of recognizing the contributions of their overseas talents. But with shared domestic obstacles like heavy population pressure as well as the unmatched job positions, there is much that China and India still need to do to fully embrace their overseas resources. 

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GUPSHUP

2019 brings happy tidings for Snowflake Boy Eight-year-old Wang Fuman from a village in Yunnan, southwest China, became an international sensation after his teacher posted a photograph of him arriving in school.

Wang’s hair was covered in icicles after walking 4.5km (2.8 miles) in the freezing cold.

The child would walk daily from his grandmother’s mud hut to his freezing cold, poorly resourced school. His father was working far away, and his mother had deserted the family, according to reports in Chinese media. After becoming an ‘ice celebrity’, Wang has a new house, a warmer school and his mom back at home.

* Gupshup China news courtesy South China Morning Post

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GUPSHUP

The World’s Largest Air Purifier Scientists in northern China built a 100-metre (328-foot) tall experimental “smog tower” designed to deal with pollution problems. The world’s biggest air purifier was built in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province. It was tested by researchers at the Institute of Earth Environment at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Project leader Cao Junji said the tower was improving air quality and was proving economical to run. He said that in the future, the team hoped to build much larger towers, possibly as high as 500 metres, across the country.

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Child locks mother’s iPhone for 47 years A two-year-old boy from Shanghai disabled his mother’s iPhone for 47 years. The child managed to do this by repeatedly pressing numbers on the keypad. The phone processed it as failed log in attempts and went into lockdown. According to South China Morning Post, a technician at an Apple store in Shanghai said the phone would reset itself in 47 years. Alternately, she could wipe the memory chip clean and start over. Not surprisingly, the mother chose the second option.

The Boss Knows What You Are Thinking Chinese companies are using brain surveillance devices to improve the efficiency of their workers. These devices are concealed in safety helmets or uniform hats. The lightweight, wireless sensors monitor the wearer’s brainwaves. The data is streamed to computers that use artificial intelligence algorithms to detect emotional spikes such as depression, anxiety or rage. Although the technology is in widespread use around the world, in China it is being applied on an unprecedented scale.

Cockroach Planet The world’s largest cockroach farm in southwest China breeds 6 billion cockroaches in a year for medicinal use. The farm in Xichang, Sichuan province, uses artificial intelligence to manage the massive colony. The cockroaches are used in a “healing potion” consumed by millions of people across the country. The AI system collects and analyses more than 80 categories of “big data”, including humidity, temperature, food supply to cockroaches and their consumption patterns.

It monitors changes such as genetic mutations and how they affect the growing rates of individual cockroaches.

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GUPSHUP

The ‘dancing Uncle’ from India An Indian electronics professor, whose dance at a wedding went viral in 2018, was trending news in China too. His quirky dance moves, inspired by Indian cine star Govinda, made him a celebrity in the country and among Bollywood fans globally. The video was shot at a family wedding. Indians have great fun dancing at weddings, which are colourful and full of cheer.

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Chinese army bhangra with Indian army In a video that went viral on social media in December and warmed hearts, Indian soldiers were seen teaching their Chinese counterparts bhangra (robust Indian dance usually performed by men). The video was shared officially by the Army, with a brief note: "Troops of Indian Army & Chinese Army sharing lighter moments after practicing gruesome Battle Obstacle Course."

ves

Indian officer learns tai chi from Chinese soldier In another video, an Indian officer was seen learning Tai Chi moves from the Chinese soldier. This too delighted netizens.

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RECENT ICEC EVENTS

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Yingtan to Yindu (India) – Sharing good practices on Smart City Development

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he Indian government has been focusing on building smart cities under the urban development program in the recent years, and has been taking it up rigorously with 100+ projects running currently. In an endeavour to support India’s mission for Smart Cities, India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC) facilitated a related event.

On 11th October, 2018, India China Economic and Cultural Council, in partnership with the Yingtan Municipal Peoples Government, organized a promotional seminar for “Smart New City” construction and the Narrow-Band IoT Industry Development – Yingtan City in New Delhi. A high level delegation from Jiangsu province visited India to promote their work plan and strategies in building smart cities of the future with its existing example of Yingtan City.

The leader of the delegation, Mr. Guo An, Senior Consultant, Yingtan Municipal Peoples’ Government was accompanied by Mr. Huang Zhong, Representative, Yingtan Municipal Peoples’ Government; Ms. Xie Wen, Director, Yingtan Municipal Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office; Mr. Gao Hua, Director, Yingtan Municipal Industry and Information Committee; Mr. Lu Wenge, Senior Consultant, Peoples’ Government of Yujiang County and Mr.

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Mao Jianhua, Senior Consultant, Longhu Mountain Administration Committee.

The distinguished guests from India at the promotional seminar comprised of Mr. Ji Wenhua, First Secretary, Economic and Commercial Counsellor’s Office, Embassy of People’s Republic of China in India; Mr. Gajendra Badgujar, Additional Director - East Asia & CACCI, Federation of India Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Mr. Mohd. Saqib, Secretary General, India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC).

Excellency Mr. Ji Wenhua inaugurated the seminar by expressing his delight over the initiative taken by ICEC and Yingtan government. In his welcome address, he mentioned about the tremendous scope of exchange in science and technology between India and China. He said that both countries had similar needs for development of smart cities, and China can contribute to Indian government’s program on Smart City development. He also wished the event a great success and India China cooperation in the NB-IoT Industry.

Mr Gajendra Badgujar delivered the keynote address. He spoke on Indian Economy & Business Opportunities for Chinese Companies in India. Mr. Badgujar said that India has significantly ranked

up on the ‘Ease of doing business’ scale.

He listed sectors such as auto and auto components, renewable energy, electronic system design and manufacturing, food processing, medical devices and textiles as promising areas where the Chinese could invest.

Mr. Guo An, Senior Consultant, Yingtan Municipal Peoples’ Government along with Mr. Gao Hua, Director, Yingtan Municipal Industry and Information Committee gave a very detailed presentation on the city of Yingtan, it’s flourishing economy and the key of example of a successful smart city.

Lastly, Mr. Mohd. Saqib, Secretary General, India China Economic and Cultural Council, encouraged greater exchange of smart city building technologies and strategies between India and China. He said that this should be done not only through seminars but also through outcome oriented-discussions with key organizations from the government as well as the private sector.

Mr Saqib said that Yingtan and India have a huge scope in collaborating for smart city development now, as the government has been emphasizing on a smart future with smart cities and affordable housing.

Thus, this is also a very promising sector for the Chinese to actively participate in and further invest in projects, he said.

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ICEC takes Indian Art and Craft to China in 2018 MSR Expo

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he 2018 edition of the Guandong 21st Century Maritime Silk Road International Expo was held from October 24th-28th in Dongguan, an industrial city. It was hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Guangdong Committee and organized by Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province; People’s Government of Guangzhou Municipality and People’s Government of Dongguan Municipality.

Founded in 2014, the Expo (MSREXPO) is positioned as the important program for creating the image of “Guangdong being the best choice for business and cooperation” and boosting international trade and commerce. This year’s Expo had set up a national (regional) comprehensive exhibition and four professional exhibitions. The Expo displayed the charms of all participating nations in terms of their

tourism, food, art-ware and other featured products.

During the four-day event, the visitors to the exhibitions totalled 251,000, among which 31,000 were professional buyers. The first two days of the exhibition were open for professional buyers and procurement collaboration. The final two days were public for all commoners to visit.

Being the representative organization for the Expo in India since its inception, the India China Economic and Cultural Council hosted a large delegation from India.

This included more than eighty exhibitors from sixty companies and more than ten world renowned artists from different parts of the country. These exhibitors were from various fields such as block printing, lac bangle-making, miniature art painting, henna art, handicrafts, hand-woven rugs, shawl scarves, bags, jewelry, wood carving, furniture, handloom and the like.

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CCPIT Hainan Deepens Ties with India through ICEC

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ICEC Meets Hangzhou High-Tech Zone

n November 12, 2018, a delegation from the Hangzhou National High-Tech Industry Development Zone visited ICEC to promote their high-tech zone and share opportunities for collaboration with India in the high-tech development sector.

Hangzhou High-Tech Zone (Binjiang) is under the management of Hangzhou National High-Tech Zone and Hangzhou Binjiang District. The High-Tech Zone is one of the state-level hi-tech industrial zones of the first batch approved by the State Council in 1990. The development zone has a gathering and demonstration area for strategic emerging industries in the Province called – Smart “E-valley”. It has created the whole industry chain and technology system, covering technology-based, e-commerce and manufacturing platforms. It has also cultivated many key enterprises including Alibaba, H3C, Hikvision, Dahua, Supcon, and Focused Photonics, driving the transformation as well as industrial restructuring in Hangzhou and Zhejiang province.

This was in coherence with ICEC’s annual flagship event on Smart Cities. After two successful events in Delhi (2017) and Hyderabad (2018), the third edition is due in 2019. It is a convention and exposition organized to bring in Chinese technologies, explore business opportunities, forge new alliances and networking in a high powered gathering with the Chinese companies and key decision makers in India. Through this event, both the organizations decided to cooperate and build greater exchanges between India and China in the smart city development sector through engagement of more Chinese companies in the realm of technology transfer and log-term investment projects.

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n November 21, 2018, a high level delegation from China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Hainan visited ICEC with the purpose to initiate communication and collaboration on economic exchange activities. Mr. Chen Hongliang, Vice President and Ms. Lin Chunhong, Secretary General, CCPIT Hainan Sub-Council led the group comprising of Mr. Wu Qixiang, Project Secretary, China Communication Construction Fourth Navigation Engineering Bureau Co. Ltd.; Mr. Chen Xiong, Chairman and Mr. Zhong Yiming, Chairman Secretary, Hainan Fuda Investment Co. Ltd.; Mr. Yao Mingfa, Genral Manager and Mr. Meng Lesheng, Cultural Consultant, Hainan Dunya Cultural Creative Co. Ltd. and Chairmen of Hainan Changsheng Group Co. Ltd.; Hainan Zhongming Construction Engineering Co. Ltd. and Hainan Baisha Yinggeling Mountain Spring water Co. Ltd. The meeting began with the address of Mr. Chen Hongliang. He gave a brief introduction of Hainan and shared the various opportunities available for Indian enterprises that wish to collaborate in key sectors such as agriculture. They also promoted their flagship event – China (Hainan) Tropical Agriculture Products Winter Trade Fair 2018 from December 12-15. The Vice President emphasized on the need for exchange in products that are unique and high-end, as they were similar products being brought to China from countries like Sri Lanka.

ICEC gave three main suggestions in the area of cooperation. Firstly, in the aviation field by bringing in Hainan Airlines to India. Secondly, the market for Hainan coconut milk can be ventured for manufacturing in India as there is high demand. Finally, there is huge scope in the export of marine products to Hainan, especially for shrimps and crabs, to meet its growing demand. The meeting concluded on a positive note. Mr. Chen received the suggestions and was hopeful that Hainan-India relations could be deepened in the realm of culture as well.

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CCPIT Qingyuan Shows Keen Interest in Cooperation with India

A Hebi City Promotes Talent Exchange with India

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ebi is a city in the northern Henan province of China.

It boasts two economic and technological development zones, state-level and provincial-level respectively, and a provincial-level demonstration zone for urban and rural integration. Being the first national circular economy pilot city, Hebi is known to be an eco-friendly city with vibrant cultures and rich tourism resources.

With the interest to create awareness about the development of Hebi City and share information regarding the opportunities for Indians, a high-level delegation from the Municipal Government of Henan, P.R. China had a meeting with ICEC on November 28, 2018. The group was led by Mr. Zhao Jiayu, Director, National Religious and Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee comprising of Mr. Zhang Ran, Vice Mayor, Hebi City Municipal Government, Henan; Mr. Dang Jiansen, Director, Work Leading Group Office for Talent Administration; Mr. Wang Jimin, Deputy Governor, Qi County, Hebi City Government; Mr. Zhao Lijie, Deputy District Head, Qibin District, Hebi City Government and Mr. Xu Wenping, Deputy District Head, Heshan District, Hebi City Government.

Mr. Zhao began the meeting by giving a brief introduction about Hebi City, especially regarding its popularity among tourists. He spoke about how talent exchange can be encouraged through participation in exhibitions. The main focus sectors of Hebi city are automobiles, furniture, tourism and tea. After discussion regarding the role of ICEC, he suggested that cultural exchange can be possible through tea and tourism. With regard to information technology (IT), Mr. Zhao sought support from India, and praised the Indian IT industry. ICEC also suggested delegation visits between India and Hebi in IT field to initiate ties for cooperation and business development.

high level delegation from Qingyuan met with ICEC on November 19, 2018. The group was led by Mr. Liang Zhiqiang, Chairman, Chinese Peoples’ Political Consultative Conference Qingyuan Municipal Committee of Guangdong Province and Madam Zhu Jianping, President, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Qingyuan Committee, Qingyuan Chamber of International Commerce.

The purpose of their visit was to understand and strengthen economic and cultural cooperation between India and China through communication and exchange. Through the activities of ICEC such as policy research, industry reports, cultural exhibitions and business cooperation, they showed interest in increasing the engagement of Indian companies in China and vice versa.

The city of Qingyuan is situated in the Guangdong province.

Their main industries are electronics, medical equipment and research, steel and metal, polishing and tourism. Qingyuan has engaged in bilateral trade relations with India for more than 20 years especially in locations such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. They main area of business cooperation has been in the steel and metal industry through joint ventures with Indian companies.

CCPIT Qingyuan and ICEC discussed on the prospects of partnering for the promotion of India-China exchange in exhibitions, company delegations and business promotion events. Both the organizations agreed on the importance of creating awareness about Chinese technological and development capacities that can meet the requirements for India through such initiatives.

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Chinese Fruits & Vegetables Companies Visit India to Expand Business Ties

eing an agrarian economy, India has a huge presence in the fruits and vegetables sector, in both export and import. The major destinations for Indian fruits and vegetables are UAE, Sri Lanka, Netherland, Malaysia, and UK. In terms of imports of certain fruits and vegetables, China has a significant share.

In the endeavour to further promote trade of fruits and vegetables between both the agrarian nations, India China Economic and Cultural Council organized the China-India Fruits Business Seminar on November 27 at the India International Centre. The event was hosted by the Agricultural Trade Promotion Centre, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China which brought a delegation of eight companies from the fruit and vegetable sector. The program was supported by the Economic and Commercial Counsellor’s Office, Embassy of the Peoples’ Republic of China in New Delhi.

Madam Feng Yan, First Secretary, Economic and Commercial Counsellor’s Office, Embassy of the Peoples’ Republic of China opened the seminar by giving the welcome address. She spoke about the huge prospects India and China can explore in the realm of cooperation in fruits and vegetables. Both countries should look for avenues to collaborate and share best practices since they are among the largest producers of agrarian products and suppliers too, she said.

A presentation on China’s Agricultural Trade was made by Mr. Song Juguo, Deputy Director General, Agriculture Trade Promotion Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Govt. of China. He shared the current global market scenario and spoke about how China is tackling with the recent drop in exports. He expressed that it was a good time for India and China to come together and explore each other’s markets further in the fruits and vegetables space.

The keynote address was delivered

60 ICC-Nov-Dec 2018.indb 60

by Mr. Atul Kumar Saxena, President, Indian Importer Chambers of Commerce & Industry. He spoke on business opportunities for Chinese agricultural products in India. He gave an in-depth

analysis on the total fruit and vegetable trade market of India. With regard to apple and pear, he mentioned how Poland was aggressively marketing its fruits in India after the close in Russia and Europe for its products. This was noted by the Chinese companies. The Chinese officials and also members of the delegation hoped the recent ban imposed by India on Chinese apples and pears would be lifted, as it was causing a huge loss in the scale of exports to India.

Various companies present at the event were given the opportunity to promote their products and give a presentation as well. These included Yantai Yuyi Fruit and Vegetable Foodstuff Co. Ltd.; Tianbo Fruit; Qixia Defeng Food Co Ltd; and Fuji Penglai Ltd. All the Indian fruit and vegetable companies were impressed with the informative presentations. They were happy to interact with the Chinese delegation during the B2B sessions. One of the attendees, Mr. Gulati shared his experience of doing business with China in the fruits and vegetables industry. He was happy to meet one of his suppliers coincidently at the event. Delegates from the Agriculture Trade Promotion Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Govt. of China thanked ICEC Council for organizing a successful event.

▪ November-December 2018

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Chinese show interest to re-enter fruits market in India

ndia’s diverse climate ensures availability of all varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables. It ranks second in fruits and vegetables production in the world, after China. As per National Horticulture Database published by National Horticulture Board, during 2015-16, India produced 90.2 million metric tonnes of fruits and 169.1 million metric tonnes of vegetables. The area under cultivation of fruits stood at 6.3 million hectares while vegetables were cultivated at 10.1 million hectares. Amongst fruits, the country ranks first in production of Bananas (25.7%), Papayas (43.6%) and Mangoes (including mangosteens and guavas) (40.4%).

The recent ban of Chinese apples and pears in India has quite affected the Chinese market, because a huge quantity of apples used to be exported to India, and now there is a need to sell them to other countries. It is a quite an unfavourable situation for the apple exporters in China, because India is a large market for China.

In the hope that India would lift the ban on Chinese pears and apples in 2019, a high-level delegation from Shaanxi province visited ICEC to promote their products and fruit product companies to seek buyers in India. The group was led by Mr.

Zhang Zhourang, Director General, Baoji Municipal Agricultural Administration along with delegates from Peoples’ Government of Luochuan County, Luochuan Apple Industry Administration and the Project Division and Trade Promotion Division of the Shaanxi Provincial Fruit Administration.

Ms. Li Xiaohong from the Project Division, Shaanxi Provincial Fruit Administration invited ICEC to the Fruits Expo in Shaanxi and visit the apple orchards, fruit market and companies in Baoji which is world-famous. She expressed the need for the promotion of Chinese fruit companies for partnership and distribution opportunities in India.

ICEC advised on the importance of organizing B2B and matchmaking seminar in India with the purpose of building business ties in the fruits and agro sector, as it was a good time with higher chances of the ban being lifted soon. ICEC also told them that the recent China-India Fruits Business Seminar organized by the Council in partnership with the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, China and the Embassy of the Peoples’ Republic of China in India, New Delhi was a successful event through which various Indian companies got the opportunity to network and build business ties with their Chinese counterparts.

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ICEC & Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese Liaoning Province Sign MOU

n December 14,, 2018, delegates from Liaoning Province visited ICEC to build India China partnership in the area of entrepreneurship. The group was led by Ms. Wang Zhao Xia, Party Secretary Chairman and Ms. Shi Lingzhi, Standing Director, Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese Liaoning Province.

They were joined by five companies from Liaoning Province who were looking to enter the Indian market.

To further the cooperation on bilateral economic and investment exchanges, both the organizations reached an agreement on friendly cooperation relationship.

62 ICC-Nov-Dec 2018.indb 62

During their interaction, the importance of promoting various activities of both sides and to render assistance to bothside enterprises for exchanging visits, and business exchanges and cooperation was agreed upon. Given the rich network of the Federation with 30, 000 enterprises as its members and ICEC with large membership as well, participation in activities held by both sides and to exchange investment and market and enterprise information, and to provide facilities to both-side enterprises in trade and investment cooperation was emphasized. Madam Wang expressed that it was the beginning of a new journey

between Indian and Chinese enterprises through the MoU. Towards the latter half of the meeting, the enterprises which were from the cosmetics, plastic surgery equipment, medical equipment, construction machinery and traffic light manufacturing sectors, gave their introduction and discussed with ICEC on how to start their business in India.

In order to further their understanding of India along with its way of doing business and trade, ICEC facilitated a meeting for the Federation with the Indian Importers Chambers of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi.

â–Ş November-December 2018

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I

Shinan CPC delegation visits India to explore business opportunities

CEC hosted a District-level government delegation from Shinan, Qingdao Province on December 20, 2018. The group was led by Mr. Hua Yusong, Secretary, CPC Shinan District Committee. Other members included Mr. Feng Xiaosong, Party member, Shinan District Development and Reform Bureau and Director, District Blue Economic Zone Construction Office; Directors from the District Bureau of Science and Technology; Commerce and Culture, Press and Publication also joined Secretary Yusong. Four major companies from different sectors in Qingdao that were keen to enter Indian market were also present. These were Xiaoyaolu Community Workstation, Jinmenlu; Qingdao Topscomm Communication Co. Ltd; Tsingtao Brewery Co. Ltd. and Qingdao Clean Environment Co., Ltd. ICEC organized their meeting with Solar Energy Society of India (SESI) to provide them information on the solar industry in India. SESI is one of the oldest organizations (started in 1978) working towards the promotion of solar use in India.

The deliberations and discussions were in-depth and focused. Many areas of cooperation and joint research emerged which needs to be taken forward by both sides. Firstly, BCIM presents a new and unique opportunity for the four countries to collaborate and become a platform for the region. BCIM will involve environmental issues with respect to clearing up the corridor and energy requirements. “Greening the BCIM” is one area where Shinan and SESI seemed to be very interested to initiate a joint research project. Other areas related with green buildings and solar energy development can also be identified.

Secondly, water pollution and contamination is an issue shared by India and China. Industrial ground water contamination is a big issue in China but not a challenge for the regulators in India.

Still, in future as the industry grows India might face similar problems. Ground Water technological cooperation is another area identified by the both sides.

Finally, a number of joint and

collaborative programs with SESI were encouraged. There is great potential in the sectors of green buildings, climate modeling, city infrastructure, etc. CPC Shinan & SESI appointed a nodal point person to take the communication forward for identifying areas and opportunities for collaboration and research.

In their meeting with the Secretary General, ICEC, cooperation in the realm of culture was discussed. The need for a sister-city tie up with Qingdao was expressed by Secretary Yusong, especially with the objective of promoting yoga culture in Qingdao. ICEC proposed that organizing a Yoga festival would be a fruitful way of endorsing yoga.

Another import area of cooperation was of Tsingtao Brewery in India, given the high demand in the beer market of India. They were advised to create local distributorship in India and even set a brewery to further boost production and sales of their brand. Similarly, ICEC advised the other companies on how to enter Indian market based on their industry and products.

November-December 2018 ▪

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