India, China reaffirm ongoing relationship

Visiting Indian Prime Minister Atal Vajpayee, second from right, walks beside Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, right, yesterday, during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. PHOTO: AFP

India and China agreed Monday on the need for more trust and cooperation to give new impetus to often-frosty bilateral ties on the first day of a visit by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Vajpayee, the first Indian leader to visit China in a decade, was officially welcomed by Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) and a 19-cannon salute on Tiananmen Square.

The two held bilateral discussions on "regional and international issues of common concern" and pledged friendlier relations in talks which were scheduled to last for 30 minutes but ran on to an hour.

" ... I have brought from India ties of peace, friendship, trust and cooperation," said Vajpayee at the Great Hall of the People.

"India and China are neighbors and they are the two countries on earth with the biggest populations and fastest economic growth.

"We have had a long history of exchanges in civilization, history, religion and culture.

"India attaches great importance to having cooperative relations with China. I hope my trip to China will strengthen trust and understanding between the two countries, peoples and governments and further promote our broad cooperation."

Wen said he "fully agrees" on the need for bolstering ties and was optimistic that Vajpayee's groundbreaking visit would reap dividends.

"The Chinese government attaches importance to your visit and the Chinese people pay close attention to your visit," he said.

"I believe that your current visit will certainly yield a major impact on the further development of our relationship in the future."

Chinese experts quoted in official media Monday said the visit would usher in a new chapter in Sino-Indian ties.

"Under the current complex and volatile international situation, this visit -- to which both countries have attached great importance -- will write a new chapter in Sino-Indian bilateral ties," Sun Shihai from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was quoted as saying in the China Daily.

"It will promote a constructive partnership between the two Asian giants by adopting a more mature and pragmatic approach."

Vajpayee has made clear though that much work still needs to be done to improve a relationship tainted by a long-running border dispute still unsolved despite 15 rounds of talks.

The China Daily said that in addition to the border dispute and trade relations, the two sides would discuss cooperation in combating global terrorism and the need for multilateralism.

"What truly matters now for the two countries is a shared political will to anchor bilateral ties," said the state-run newspaper.

"A constructive Sino-Indian partnership would conform more to their respective political and security interests than a relationship as rivals."

Vajpayee is accompanied by senior members of his cabinet, including Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha and Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley, as well as a large business delegation.

During the six-day visit, which also takes him to the ancient city of Luoyang and the economic powerhouse of Shanghai, Vajpayee will meet President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and Hu's powerful predecessor Jiang Zemin (江澤民).

Boosting two-way trade, which stands at five billion dollars and is projected to double in five years, will be a key task of the trip.

The two sides also Monday inked agreements that promote culture, education, science and technology, and an easy visa regime.

P.V. Narasimha Rao was the last Indian leader to set foot in China, in 1993.