The highlight of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's first engagement during his visit to China, which begins here on Wednesday, will be the showcasing of a landmark Rs. 2,500-crore investment by a Chinese company in his state for a green energy project.
The investment in Gujarat, by Chinese energy company TBEA, was confirmed last week when a memorandum of understanding was signed in New Delhi.
TBEA's deal was planned as the centrepiece of a business meeting at a Beijing five-star hotel on Wednesday morning to showcase “Business and Investment Opportunities” in Gujarat.
However, the massive project, first hailed as a landmark for Chinese investment in India, has in the past week attracted attention in China for all the wrong reasons, following a much-publicised spat between an Indian journalist and the Chinese Ambassador to India, Zhang Yan, at the MoU signing ceremony in New Delhi.
Mr. Zhang reportedly told the journalist to “shut up” after he was repeatedly questioned over maps included in TBEA's brochure, which showed parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as belonging to China. While Mr. Zhang had said the matter was a “technical issue”, the journalist continued with his questioning, prompting an angry response from the Ambassador.
The incident has received attention in the Chinese media, both in discussion forums online and in the State media. The coverage has largely portrayed the incident as another example of the Indian media's “negative” role in the bilateral relationship.
The Global Times , a newspaper run by the Communist Party, in a report appeared to blame the Indian media for the spat, echoing past editorials in which the nationalist newspaper has accused the Indian media for worsening tensions between the two countries.
Some bloggers in China's vibrant online community have, however, criticised Mr. Zhang's response — some said he was “not being diplomatic enough”, while others said his acknowledging a “technical issue” undermined China's territorial claims.
The agenda for Wednesday's event, which is being organised by the Embassy of India in Beijing and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME), includes a presentation by a TBEA representative from Shenyang, in Liaoning province, on “Why TBEA has chosen Gujarat for their investment in India.” TBEA's presentation, officials said, was included in the agenda to encourage other Chinese companies to invest in India, and learn from its experience.
Representatives at both Chinese and Indian companies agree that TBEA's less than smooth entry into the Indian market has only underscored persisting gaps in understanding between both countries, whether at the level of government or enterprises, that need to be given more attention and addressed with more sensitivity, if political differences are to be better managed as engagement widens on other fronts, such as trade.
Executives at Indian companies in China, who are familiar with the domestic market, say TBEA's troubled entry will not deter other Chinese companies, who are increasingly turning to India as they look to invest overseas.
But why TBEA chose to include maps in a brochure for a green energy project, particularly in light of a sensitive and long-running border dispute, is a mystery, they say. An even bigger one is why the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, presumably aware of Indian sensitivities, did not caution the company as it announced its arrival in India.
