'Boycott China Call': Maharashtra Govt Freezes Three Chinese Projects Worth Rs 5,000 Crore

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government has put on hold three agreements with Chinese companies worth Rs 5,000 crore which were signed at the recent Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0 investor meet, Times Of India reported.

The online conference held on last Monday was attended by Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong.

"The decision has been taken in consultation with the Union government. These were signed prior (to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers on the Indo-China border). The ministry of external affairs has advised not to sign any further agreements with Chinese companies," Industry Minister Subhash Desai informed the media.

Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0 was an initiation by the Maharashtra government to boost up the economy post-COVID, for which the state signed 12 agreements, including companies from Singapore, South Korea, US besides several Indian companies. The government is actively working on other MoUs, Desai added.

This comes amid the calls to boycott Chinese products in India as a result of border disputes in Ladakh between the two countries.

The agreements included a Rs 3,770-crore memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Great Wall Motors (GWM), to set up an automobile plant and produce electric vehicles and SUV models at the unit in Talegaon near Pune. Earlier in January, GWM had signed an agreement to acquire the Talegaon plant from US-based multinational General Motors.

Earlier that month, Managing Director of the Indian subsidiary of GWM, Parker Shi, in a statement said that the company was committed to $ 1 billion (Rs 7,600 crore) of investment in India in a phased manner, manufacturing world-class premium products and building a supply chain that would provide employment to more than 3000 people.

Another project that has been frozen is a Rs 1,000-crore unit by PMI Electro Mobility, in a joint venture with Foton (China), likely to create 1,500 jobs.

The third is Hengli Engineering, for a Rs 250-crore investment as part of its phase II expansion at Talegaon is also put on hold, the project that was expected to generate 150 jobs.

At an all-party meeting held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said, "India wants peace but that doesn't mean we are weak. China's nature is betrayal. India is mazboot not majboor (India is strong, not helpless)," as quoted.

Expressing his confidence in the Modi administration, Thackeray said that the government has the ability to give a befitting reply. "We are all one. This is the feeling. We are with you, PM. We are with our forces and their families," as quoted.

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