Narendra Modi concludes China visit

Chief Minister Narendra Modi addressed over 200 leading industrialists of China's Sichuan province on the fifth and final day of his China visit.

The day also saw India China Economic & Cultural Council (ICEC) and Panzhichua Guanghua Group (PGG) signing a MoU to develop trade ties between Gujarat and Sichuan.

Addressing the Gujarat-Sichuan Business Forum, organised by India's consul general in China and the provincial government, Modi called upon Chinese industrialists to invest in the state. He said that Gujarat was the best destination for industrial investments, and that the state was on its way to become the global economic and automobile hub.

The ICEC announced that it would open an office in Chengdu, which would work for promoting trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchange between Gujarat and Sichuan. The council would also send teachers to run Mandarin courses in the state.

During the day, the CM and the delegation accompanying him also visited the high-tech research & development centre of Huawei Technologies. Modi discussed possibility of Huawei setting up a model telecom R & D centre in the state.

Later in the day, Modi also witnessed the mammoth reconstruction and rehabilitation in Yingxiu city of China, which had suffered massive damage in the wake of an earthquake in May 2008.

He inspected the low-cost houses that have been built in the once quake-ravaged city and noted the similarities between Yingxiu and Kutch, which had also suffered huge damage in the 2001 earthquake.

The CM also offered floral tribute to the victims of the earthquake at the quake memorial in Yingxiu.

The CM and the 22-member delegation completed the five-day China trip with a visit to the famous, ancient Wenshu Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in Chengdu.

Officials in the chief minister's office said that the CM and the delegation accompanying him were scheduled to return to Ahmedabad late on Saturday.