HONG KONG: Kerala is now the first Indian state to enter China's IT market by signing two landmark deals with leading Chinese software parks in Beijing and Shanghai, P K Kunhalikutty, Kerala's IT and industry Minister, said on Wednesday. He said the state is entering into agreement with China's leading software park at Pudong in east China's Shanghai and signing an MoU with Beijing's Zhongguancun software park. This is the first time that any state has entered into a cooperation with their Chinese counterpart for cooperation in the area of IT, he was quoted as saying by a news agency. This MoUs are expected to throw up opportunities to IT companies in Kerala for expanding their business to the major multinationals functioning in China. China's IT market is estimated to be worth 10 billion US Dollars and was growing at nearly 30 per cent per annum, which is equivalent to India's software exports to the United States, Aruna Sunderrajan, secretary (IT) and chair person Technopark, said Shanghai Pudong Software Park (SPSP) is China's largest technology park with over 1,000 IT companies registered in the park and contributing to more than one-third of the IT market of China. This initiative marks a new beginning for IT companies in Kerala to explore the emerging market in China. This will also lead to opening employment opportunities for high end IT professionals from Kerala to China, Sunderrajan said.