Calcutta University

It's a great honor for me to be invited to this important international seminar on Kolkata and China.

As the Consul General of China in Kolkata, I should have a professional knowledge about the historical and contemporary relations between Kolkata and China. I should do my homework before I can stand here and say a few words. The invitation extended to me for this seminar actually was an order to me to this effect. Now I have begun doing my homework and today I would like to share my limited understanding with my Indian and Chinese friends here.

When talking about Kolkata and China, we cannot help to have a sense of history. The modern history of China started from the First Opium War in 1840 when China was defeated by the British. At that time Calcutta was the capital of British India and also was the main opium market controlled by the East Indian Company. It was a shameful war because then the British exported opium to China by force for a purpose of importing tee from China. That was the first time China was defeated by a Western power and since then the Chinese and Indians had shared their common experiences in the colonial times. I call this piece of history as Chapter One.

Chapter Two. The British not only opened the door of China by force at sea but also did the same to Tibet at land. Then Calcutta had become a place for many years where some historical meetings and documents involving Tibet were held and signed.

Chapter Three. More than 200 years ago there was a Chinese businessman named Atchew landed in Kolkata. He was granted a plot of land and a sugar mill was set up. After him, in the course of time, more and more Chinese immigrated to Kolkata, mainly Hakka shoemakers and tanners, Cantonese carpenters and dentists from Hubei. In 1950s the population of the Chinese community in Kolkata reached 50,000. Historically, those Chinese made their due contribution to the economic and social development of Kolkata. Nowadays the population of the Chinese community in Kolkata is much less than before, but they are still a unique minority in India as most of them are Indian citizens, and are actively playing a role of promoting economic and cultural exchanges between India and China.

Chapter Four. The great son of Bengal, Rabindra Nath Tagore, inspired the Chinese intellectuals intensely in the early decades of the last century and became an icon of liberty, progress and creation in China. He visited China in 1924 for nearly two months and gave a big push to the New Culture Movement, the Chinese Enlightenment.

Chapter Five. As two largest developing countries in the world, both China and India have been active in the struggle for progress and prosperity and sharing our experiences and practices. We are proud of our communist friends in this land and wish their efforts of industrialization a great success.

Chapter Six. As an evidence of the development of Sino-Indian relations, the Consulate General of China in Kolkata and its counterpart of India in Guangzhou have newly been established.

Chapter Seven. China Eastern Airlines has been operating a direct flight between Kolkata and Kunming, a big city in Southwest China, since last October. In ancient times the Chinese named India as the Western Heaven, because it was a holy land and also because it was far, far away. There is a well-known ancient novel in China entitled "Western Journey", and all the stories in it show to the readers how difficult it was for Xunzang, a Chinese scholarly monk, to get to the Western Heaven. Now it is a matter of only two hours flying and people to people exchange has become an everyday reality.

Chapter Eight. Eight is a lucky number in China. Coincidently, now my talking is shifting from history to future. Here I would like to make three wishes for the near future:

One, Kolkata will establish a relationship of "sister cities" with a Chinese city.

Two, Kolkata will have a bilateral chamber of commerce especially for promoting trade and economic relations with China.

Three, Kolkata will have a Chinese Language Forum and once a month people who speak or are learning the Chinese language will meet together.

Thank you.