By IANS,
New Delhi : A top Chinese official says Beijing has high expectations and attaches significant importance to the three-day India visit of Premier Wen Jiabao, who arrived here Wednesday with top officials and 400-strong team of business leaders.
“China-India relations are significant. The leaders of both nations agree the world has enough space for the two emerging economies to grow,” Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue said as Wen began his visit on an invite of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen have met with Prime Minister Singh on 10 occasions in 2010 alone,” said the assistant foreign minister, adding that the two nations, along with Russia and Brazil, have been working closely on several global issues.
Wen’s entourage includes Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Communications Minister Li Shenglin, Culture Minister Cai Wu, Director of Research Office Xie Fuzhan, Vice Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, and Director in the Premier’s Office Qiu Xiaoxiong.
According to the assistant foreign minister, Wen’s visit particularly comes against the backdrop of India and China concluding their 14th round of border talks Nov 30, with a joint call to seek a “fair and reasonable solution” acceptable to both sides.
The two Asian giants, who together have a population of 2.5 billion people or two-fifth of humankind, share a 2,000-km long border.
Wen will hold official talks with Manmohan Singh Thursday who will also together oversee celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations. A host of agreements are also on the cards, especially in infrastructure, telecom and energy.
Liang Wenzhao, deputy director of the department of Asian affairs of China’s Ministry of Commerce, said bilateral cooperation agreements that are set to be inked Thursday would cover trade, renewable energy, infrastructure and finance.
China is also India’s largest trading partner with the value of two-way merchandise exchange rising from $18.7 billion dollars in 2005 to $51.8 billion last year. The Chinese trade office expects this to top $60 billion this year.