China to cooperate in Bihar in several sectors

Bihar CM invited to visit China

PATNA: China is interested in developing cooperation with Bihar in the economic, cultural and infrastructure sectors and to begin with, the Chinese government has donated $1 million for the development of Nalanda International University.

This was stated by the Chinese envoy to India, Zhang Yan, here on Thursday after holding meeting with chief minister Nitish Kumar. The two held talks for over half-an-hour and both said it was very fruitful and meaningful. The envoy was accompanied by his wife, Chen Wangxia.

Yan congratulated Nitish for the economic development of Bihar, and also extended an invitation to the CM to visit Beijing.
To a query by TOI about the nature of cooperation between China and Bihar, Yan said since China saw Bihar as a fast developing economy , there could be joint efforts to expand cooperation.

Bihar is a major agriculture state, just as China is. We can work together for developing scientific methods for establishing agro industries. Food is getting more expensive around the world and agriculturally developed regions can help reduce food inflation, Yan said.

The ambassador, who arrived on a two-day visit, first by a Chinese diplomat after a long time, will visit Nalanda on Friday. He would hold discussions with the chancellor and vice-chancellor of Nalanda University and also see the Xuan Zang memorial hall, named after the legendary Chinese traveller. Yan visited Patna museum too and was quite impressed with the items on display.

Yan further said, China is looking forward to strong cooperation in the industry and infrastructure sectors. We are quite keen on cultural cooperation. Once Nalanda University is opened it will serve as a good platform for mutual understanding, and a large number of students from China will come to study there.

The envoy also stressed on expanding cooperation in the tourism sector. He said, A large number of people from China want to visit Bihar and important Buddhist sites. They want to know more about Buddhism. Yan referred to Xuan Zang and said he took the message of Lord Buddha to China. Today, Buddhism is the main religion in China, he added.

Nitish, who came out to see off Yan, said he held very good discussion with the Chinese envoy and touched upon various issues of mutual interest. He thanked him for the invitation to visit Beijing. Some two years back, I had been invited to visit China by the ministry of external affairs, but due to some pre-occupation I could not make it, he added.

source: The Times of india