Nitish to be in China on goodwill tour

Patna, Jun 10: After his recent visit to Bhutan, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will undertake a ''goodwill'' tour of China from June 12. Official sources told PTI today that during his stay in China Kumar would visit power plants, besides looking into its agriculture and irrigation systems.

Kumar would also inaugurate a seminar ''Budhhism : Mapping Asia's History and Culture'' in Beijing on June 18 and attend a programme to be hosted in his honour by Indian origin citizens in Shanghai. He would also visit Sandong and take a trip to the Great Wall of China, the sources said.

China, the sources said, had been impressed by the rapid economic development of Bihar and has shown keen interest in making investments here.

Chinese Ambassador to India Zhang Yan during his visit to Bihar in January had praised Kumar for his efforts and announced cooperation with the state in developing agriculture and industrial infrastructure and reconstruct the ancient Nalanda University as part of the China-India Exchange this year.

Consul General of China in Kolkata Zhang Lizhong too was expected to lead a Chinese delegation to Bihar to boost trade and industrial tie-ups, the sources said.

Kumar will head a delegation comprising state Water Resource Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Tourism Minister Sunil Kumar Pintoo, development commissioner K C Saha. He will leave for New Delhi on June 12 from where he would take off for China, the sources said.

Last month, the chief minister had gone on week-long tour to Bhutan to hold power-sharing talks.

PTI