Beijing upbeat about Indian PM’s China visit

By IANS

New Delhi/Beijing : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will pay a three-day visit to China from Jan 13, it was announced Thursday, and Beijing said that it “attaches great importance” to his first trip to Asia’s economic giant.


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While the Indian external affairs ministry chose to be matter of fact about the official visit, China sought to place improving bilateral ties in perspective and stressed the movement towards an early resolution of the border row between the two countries.

“We will make joint efforts to try to find a fair and rational settlement that is acceptable to both countries,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters in Beijing.

“We have had a fruitful exploration of the framework for resolving the issue,” she said, alluding to three rounds of talks held last year to resolve the dragging border dispute.

Jiang added: “We are the two biggest developing countries in the world and we both face the same tasks of development. Both sides also work on ensuring regional and world peace and stability.

“So we are willing to promote the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.”

Manmohan Singh is going to Beijing, his first visit to China as the prime minister, at the invitation of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, who visited India in April 2005.

The visit will underscore the message that the two Asian powers, both the world’s fastest growing economies, are seeking a relationship of cooperation in a new world.

“This visit is part of the high-level exchanges between India and China in recent years,” external affairs ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said in New Delhi. President Hu Jintao came to India in November 2006.

Manmohan Singh will hold talks with Wen and Hu on an entire array of bilateral issues, including ways to resolve the border row, economic ties and the prospects of civilian nuclear cooperation.

The Indian leader will also meet Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China.

The two sides will also discuss greater cooperation on regional and global issues including UN reforms, climate change and trilateral cooperation between India, China and Russia.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the last Indian prime minister to visit China in June 2003.

India and China fought a bitter border war in 1962, leading to a freeze in diplomatic relations until 1976. Since then, the two countries have steadily improved their relations, more so after the end of the Cold War.

Chinese spokeswoman Jiang noted that Sino-Indian relations were seeing “sound development”.

Bilateral trade from January to November 2007 topped $34.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 54 percent, Jiang added.

Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei held the third round of strategic dialogue in Beijing last month with a view to fleshing out the agenda for Manmohan Singh’s visit.

Chinese officials told Menon that China was making “vigorous preparations” and was readying to roll out the red carpet welcome to Manmohan Singh when he arrives in Beijing.

Manmohan Singh’s visit comes weeks after the historic joint military exercise by the two Asian powers in Kunming in western Yunnan province of China last month.

Military experts say the exercises underlined newfound warmth and trust between the two countries.

Last year, the two countries jointly held the China-India Tourism Year, conducted frequent high-level exchanges, and enhanced bilateral cooperation in various fields.

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