Government has no plans to scrap ties with China

Amidst the rising chorus to ban Chinese companies and goods after the killing of 20 Army jawans at Galwan Valley, Ladakh, the Maharashtra government, on Thursday, hinted that it had no plans to scrap ongoing contracts or the memorandum of understanding for future investments.

China-owned Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Corporation Ltd (STEC) had bagged the contract for setting up the underground Mumbai Metro Line-3 tunnel ventilation and environmental control systems. The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), in February 2019, had awarded the contract to the firm for the project’s phase-I, which includes the tunnel from Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to Aarey Colony. An MMRCL official told the Free Press Journal there was no plan to scrap the contract.

On the other hand, the government, on Monday, had signed an MoU with the China-based Great Wall Motor to set up a manufacturing facility at Chakan, Talegaon, by investing Rs 4,000 crore. Another Chinese automobile major Foton and Indian company PMI Electro Mobility Solutions, too, inked MoU with the state government in the E mobility segment. They will invest Rs 1,000 crore.

State Industry Department officials also made it clear that these MoUs will be implemented in a time bound manner. “There is no policy decision to cancel these MoUs or to put them on hold. In fact, the state-run Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has already appointed a relationship manager for these companies to give them hand holding till the commissioning of their projects,’’ he noted.

The officer further stated that these companies have their own standing in the global market.

The government has zeroed in on some 2,500 small, medium and big companies from China, Taiwan, US, UK, Germany and South Korea to invite them for investments in the state post the COVID-19 pandemic. He reiterated that there has been no direction to discontinue the communication launched with the Chinese companies.

source https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/government-has-no-plans-to-scrap-ties-with-china