GANDHINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bond with China dates back to his days as the chief minister of Gujarat. China was one of the first countries Modi visited after he was denied visa by the US in 2005. In November 2006, Modi embarked on a five-day trip to China, visiting Beijing and Shanghai apart from the special economic zones in Shenzhen and Pudong.

Among the important MoUs signed during his visit was the one with China Light & Power Company, which has set up a 600MW gas-fired power plant in Paguthan in South Gujarat. The company is planning to establish a 2,000MW coal-fired plant at the same location.

However, many MoUs, such as the one establishing the sister-state relationship with Tianjin province, never took off. Talks of a technical tie-up between the Three Gorges Dam authority and Gujarat's Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam did not make much headway either.

Five years later, when Modi visited China again, he was accorded the treatment reserved for heads of state or national government: he was, for instance, received at the Great Hall of People. Travelling with Modi were his favourite bureaucrats like K Kailashnathan (who has been the chief principal secretary in the Gujarat government since his retirement in 2012); and A K Sharma, who is now with the PMO. The delegation also comprised top representatives from Reliance, Essar, Adani, and Shell Hazira.

Since then, China's TBEA has begun operations in the state and plans a Rs 2,500 crore infusion for a Green Energy Park in Karjan near Vadodara.

The China-India Trade and Investment Centre estimates that Chinese companies may invest about $1 billion in sectors like electronics and infrastructure in the coming years. According to industry sources, investment commitments made by Chinese companies in Gujarat is to the tune of around Rs 10,000 crore, most of which was pledged when Modi was the CM. The actual investments could be around Rs 1,000 crore, most of it in the power equipment sector.

In 2011, many MoUs were signed with Chinese entities; most have not materialized. These plans included: telecom giant Huawei setting up a manufacturing base in the state; and a tie-up between Shanghai Institute for Contemporary Development Studies for International Enterprises and a university in Gujarat. The state wanted to consult the Shanghai (Yangshan) Deep Water Port authority for technological options for the Kalpasar Project, but progress hasn't been achieved. Gujarat is a heavyweight in the port sector and has immense potential.