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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh departs for three-day China visit
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January 12, 2008 21:18 IST

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] begins a three-day visit to China on Sunday with hopes of pushing forward bilateral relations through comprehensive economic engagement and developing cooperation in various areas including defence and security.

Singh, who will be making his maiden visit as Prime Minister, will have discussions with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao, whom he meets over a one-on-one dinner on Sunday before delegation level talks on Monday.

The festering boundary issue is expected to figure prominently in the talks, though no breakthrough is likely, according to informed sources. But significant progress can be expected in the economic engagement between the two countries as a high-level business delegation accompanies the Prime Minister.

The significance of the restricted meeting on Sunday can be gauged from the fact that the Prime Minister did not want to take chances with the Delhi weather and advanced his departure to Saturday night.

He would also have discussions with President Hu Jintao, whom he had met on earlier occasions, besides National People's Congress Chairman Wu Bangguo.

Noting that China is India's largest neighbour and a focal point of its Look East policy, Singh said in a statement before his departure, "We attach high priority to strengthening our relations with China".

The Prime Minister recalled that the two countries had established a Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity when Premier Wen visited India in April, 2005.

During President Hu's visit in November 2006, the two countries had laid down a ten-pronged strategy to qualitatively upgrade bilateral ties.

"Our bilateral relations are now poised to enter a vibrant and dynamic phase, based on a common recognition that the growth and development of both India and China will make positive and long term contributions to regional and global peace, security and stability," he said.

Singh said both India and China shared a desire to enhance their relationship both bilaterally and at the global level.

"I look forward to my discussions with the Chinese leadership on the entire gamut of our relationship. We are engaged in the process of giving substantive content to our partnership through comprehensive economic engagement and developing mutually beneficial cooperation in the areas of science and technology, culture, education, defence and security, and increasing people-to-people contacts," he said.

"Issues relating to the boundary and cooperation with regard to trans-boundary rivers will be discussed. I will be discussing how we can work more closely with China on regional, multilateral and global issues," Singh said.

Foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon, briefing reporters on the visit, said on Friday that there would be discussions on an entire range of bilateral issues and ways to take forward a concurrence of views on regional and global issues.

On trade, he said both sides would take up a recent report by a bilateral joint study group which has given several suggestions for increasing the overall trade and reducing the trade deficit. Bilateral trade with China stood at $25 billion in 2006, which touched $34.2 billion by November 2007, a 54 per cent growth year on year.

The trade target of $40 billion by 2010 set by the leadership of the two countries is expected to be achieved before that. At the moment, the balance of trade is in China's favour and India expects to set it right by increasing its exports.

During the visit, the two sides are expected to sign several agreements aimed at giving an impetus to cooperation in geosciences, traditional medicines, land resource management, railways, housing and central planning.

Discussions would also cover joint forays into the energy sector and ways to minimize the trade deficit faced by India in bilateral trade.


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