President of Bihar Chamber of Commerce OP Sah (left) and president of Bihar Industries Association Shailendra Prasad Sinha at the joint news conference on Tuesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, June 21: Attitude of the Chinese towards work and functioning of the entrepreneurs have left not only chief minister Nitish Kumar impressed but also those who accompanied him.

O.P. Sah, the president of Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Shailendra Prasad Sinha, the president of Bihar Industries Association, who were part of the eight-member delegation to China, while addressing a news conference in the state capital today heaped praises on the hardworking mindset of the Chinese and the government’s intention of achieving the goals.

The heads of the trade bodies said that after speaking to the Chinese people, it was found that the government gives all sorts of help for the development of trade and industry, including marketing assistance.

“We got the opportunity to visit a 1,250MW super-critical power plant, which was built in a comparatively smaller space and was kept tidy,” Sinha said. However, the delegation added that the Chinese model couldn’t be replicated in India, particularly in the agriculture sector, because in China it is the government that owns the land and the farmers are given land for cultivation on a contractual basis. In India, private farmers own land, they said.

“To maintain the fertility of land in China, the government there has banned the manufacturing of bricks with the use of soil. There bricks are manufactured using industrial wastes, fly ash and other waste materials by recycling them. Their weight is one-third in comparison to the bricks that are made in India,” Sah said. He pointed out that these bricks are not only cost-effective but are also environment friendly.

Sah said: “The best thing to learn from the Chinese is their hardworking nature. For manufacturing even small things they set a target for themselves and complete the work within the stipulated time frame.”

The president of the Bihar Chamber of Commerce said they got the opportunity to meet senior officials and took a look at the industries of Sandong, a province in China and discussed potentials of trade and commerce with Bihar and ensuring better relation with the state.

On the power front, Sinha said China is self-reliant in the power sector. “Moreover, the tax on power is also less as compared to India, however, there is very little or no misuse of power by the people of the country,” he said.

The group also met the Indian community in China, which had invited the delegation. Sinha added: “We came to know that Indian foods are getting popular in China and many restaurants have come up in the major towns in China.”