Spurred by the west over a visa, Western India’s Gujarat state’s Chief Minister Narendra Modi decided to swoon China. Over several trips across the bamboo curtain, a lot of guangxi and some favourable policies later, the head of the fastest growing Indian state is all set to roll out the red carpet for Chinese companies.

Gujarat will hold an investment summit this September specially to lure Chinese investments who have seen costs sky rocket. With Beijing plan to drill conglomerates further inland, costs in China’s coastal megapolises have drastically risen. Unable to sustain profitable margins anymore, Chinese companies, both private and public are looking beyond the Himalayas.  Mr. Modi hopes Gujarat can capitalise on this shift. As a result, post his trip to China last November, Mr. Modi has put gears in motion in Gujarat. He hopes that by providing the right infrastructure and incentives, he can lure Chinese companies a new home in Gujarat. The larger picture being that the presence of large international companies will then further fuel tertiary sectors augmenting the state’s economy as a whole.

The plan is long term and strategic, but is definitely do-able. A recent visit by Inchin Closer with a Chinese delegation who was considering setting up a power component factory around Baroda, saw a grand welcome from the state. Gujarat it seems unlike many states we’ve visited in the recent past seems eager for Chinese investments, there is a sense of growing for the common good, working hard and following procedures, making sure that obstacles are eliminated and India’s bureaucratic lethargy is left behind. In Gujarat we see a shining India.