Zhejiang

Zhejiang Province has traditionally been the bastion of entrepreneurship and a major textile base in China. Zhejiang with an area of 101,800 square kilometers, borders Fujian on the south, Jiangxi and Anhui on the west, Shanghai and Jiangsu on the north and East China Sea on the east. Zhejiang is located in the southern part of the Yangtze River Delta. With an extensive 6,486 kilometers long coastline & numerous bays, Zhejiang has 60 natural ports. Hills and mountains account for 70.4 percent of the total area of the province. The number of islands in Zhejiang amounts to 3,061, which is the largest number in China. Zhejiang, an old name of Qiantang river is called ‘Zhe’ for short.

 

Zhejiang is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. Liangzhu Culture flourished in the area near the Taihu Lake and the Qiantang River around 5000 years ago. The legendary Wu kingdom was established in this region during the period of the Three Kingdoms( 222-280 AD). The Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD) linked Hangzhou with Northern china by building the Grand Canal. The golden era of Zhejiang started in 12^th century when Hangzhou became the capital of Southern Song Dynasty. In the beginning of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the borders of the province were defined & in the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, during the Emperor Kangxi’s reign ( 1661-1722) , the province became known as Zhejiang.

 

Traditionally known as the "Land of Fish and Rice", this province is nowadays famous for its ‘Zhejiang Model of Development’, where small businesses have been grown to mass produce low cost goods that meet the needs of largely international and domestic markets. Its capital Hangzhou, has been continuously ranked by Forbes for the last five years as the best city in China to do business. The province is also famous for its booming one industry towns (Wenzhou-shoes, Datang-socks, Qiaotou-buttons, Diankou- hand tools/hardware, Yiwu- world’s largest sales hub for small consumables). It has 2 cities of vice-provincial government level namely Hangzhou and Ningbo, 9 cities of regional level namely Wenzhou, Huzhou, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Jinhua, Quzhou, Zhoushan, Taizhou and Lishui, 36 counties, 22 cities of county level, 32 urban districts subordinated to different cities, 837 towns, 562 villages and 212 residential districts.

 

 GDP : US$ 406.36 billion

 GDP growth rate : 11.8 %

 Exports: US$  180.48  billion  and Imports: US$ 72.99 billion

 FDI – Actual US$ 11.12  billion(Contracted US $ 15.3 billion)

 Per capita GDP: US$7690

 Population: 54 million with 11.8 million migrant population

 Capital: Hangzhou

 Share of Industrial sector in total economy- 51.88 %

Share of Service sector in total economy– 43.14 %  

 Prominent sectors - traditional products such as rice, tea, silk and orange. Zhejiang, home of famous Longjing tea, accounts for 10% of China's total tea planting area, contributes 20% of national output, 30 % of tea production value and takes up to 60 % of the nation's tea export. 

In modern industry, apart from textiles, Zhejiang’s pillar industries include air-separation equipment, steam turbines, boilers, auto, motorcycle and auto components, electric tools & cables, Petrochemical industry , fine chemical industry, Chinese & modern pharmaceuticals, medical instrument and pharmaceutical machinery.

 

 

·          Party Secretary -  Mr. Zhao Hongzhu

·          Governor – Mr. Lu Zushan

·          Chairman of Standing Committee of Zhejiang People’s Congress – Mr. Zhao Hongzhu

·          Chairman of People’s Political Consultative Conference – Mr. Zhou Guofu

 

 

In 2010, India’s total trade with Zhejiang stood at US$ 7.59 billion in 2010, up by 39.52% in comparison with the previous year. Indian exports to Zhejiang increased by 33.28% to US$ 2.05 billion, while imports from Zhejiang to India increased by 41.57% to reach US$ 5.53 billion.

 

The principal items of imports from Zhejiang to India comprised of medicines, textile fabrics and steel while exports from India to Zhejiang primarily included Iron ore and fine ore, cotton, primitive shape of plastics etc. The principal items of imports from Zhejiang to India comprised of textile yarn, textile fabric, steel, textile machinery & components, medicines while exports from India to Zhejiang primarily included Iron ore and fine ore, cotton, plastics etc. The total accumulated contracted investments  by Indian  companies  in Zhejiang  in 2010 stood at US$ 193  million, while accumulated actual  investment  was US$  84.25  million. 

Many prominent companies from Zhejiang are present in India & doing business with a large cross section of Indian companies in various sectors such as Power generation, systems, air separation plants, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles and cellular technology. This includes Hangzhou Steam Turbine Co.(HTC), Hangzhou Qianjiang River Electric Group Co. Ltd. (QRE), Hangzhou Boiler Group Ltd., Zhuji Hengnuo Electromechanic Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Zhejiang Topsun Group Co. Ltd., Hangzhou Hangyang Co. Ltd., Sinochem Ningbo Ltd., Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company , Ningbo Bird, Zhejiang New Jack Sewing Machine Co. Ltd., Zhejiang Yankon Group Co Ltd., Jushi Group Co. Ltd., Supcon, Longsheng Group Co. Ltd, Hangzhou Chunfeng Industry Co., Hangzhou Hangyang Co. Ltd, Zhejiang Hang Xiao Steel Structure Co. Ltd  etc.

 

Many Indian companies have set up manufacturing units in Zhejiang. TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) & Infosys have software development centers in Hangzhou. Sundram Fasteners has set up a wholly owned manufacturing unit in Haiyan County of Jiaxing. Thermax and Elgi Equipments (India) also have manufacturing units in Jiaxing. TATA Tea has acquired a manufacturing unit in the Anji county of Huzhou. Harsha Engineering has set up Harsha Engineering Components (Changsu) Co. Ltd in Changshu .

 

 

 

Zhejiang is also uniquely associated with India’s participation in Shanghai World Expo 2010.The bamboo for construction of the central dome of Indian pavilion was procured & processed at Xin Li Yuan Bamboo Products Company in Anji County in Huzhou city of Zhejiang. With a diameter of 37 meters, the central dome of India Pavilion which depicts the Sanchi Stupa is poised to be the largest free standing dome made of bamboo in the world. 

 

Indian community in Zhejiang

 

The number of Indians in Hangzhou has grown now to about 200 including 100 students at Zhejiang University. In nearby Shaoxing, there are 1500 Indians, mainly in the textile business. They have organized themselves into the Shaoxing Indian Business Association (SIBA) which organizes regular business meetings and cultural activities for the Indian community. Yiwu also has approximately 500 Indian nationals.