Manmohan, Jiabao to hold bilateral talks today, trade high on agenda

Agencies

New Delhi, 16 December 2010: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who is on a three-day visit to India, will be accorded a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan Thursday morning before he sits down for delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh.

The delegation level talks will be held at the Hyderabad House where the two leaders are expected to discuss all issues of concern, including stapled visas, Chinese investment in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, the boundary issue and cross-border rivers.

Trade-related issues, including ways to address ballooning $16 billion trade deficit, will figure in the discussions. The decision to activate a hotline between the leaders of the two countries is also likely to be announced.

The two sides are also likely to set a new $60 billion-plus target for bilateral trade this year.

They will also discuss a host of global issues, including the UN reforms, the global financial crisis, climate change and global terrorism.

Yesterday, the Chinese Prime Minister while interacting with students of Tagore International School had said, “India-China friends forever”.

However, despite the air of bonhomie, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be asserting India’s concerns about stapled visas and China’s increased assertiveness in Arunachal Pradesh.

He is also expected to discuss Kashmir, which is of a core concern for India just as Taiwan and Tibet are for Beijing. Manmohan Singh is also expected to seek China’s support for India’s candidature for an expanded UN Security Council.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had hosted a private dinner for Jiabao. Both the leaders agreed the two countries were partners and not rivals in a changing world order.

Manmohan Singh and Wen spent some time by themselves before joining the other guests for dinner at the Prime Minister’s official residence.

External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley and Biju Janata Dal MP Jai Panda were among those present at the dinner.

 
National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and India’s Ambassador to China S.Jaishankar were among senior officials present.

 
From the Chinese side, only senior ministers, including Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, and China’s Ambassador to India Zhang Yan were among those present.

The two leaders, who have met many times on the sidelines of multilateral summits, assured each other that the relationship between the two emerging powers was that of complementarily and not one of rivalry, informed sources said.