Indian Prime Minister Begins Visit to China

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, June 22, 2003

Indian Prime Minister Begins Visit to China

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee left for China on Sunday for a six-day visit which officials from both sides hope will break new ground in relations between the two countries.

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Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee left for China on Sunday for a six-day visit which officials from both sides hope will break new ground in relations between the two countries.

Vajpayee's visit - the first by an Indian prime minister in a decade - will focus on boosting trade and investment ties between the world's two fastest growing economies, border disputes and terrorism will also be discussed.

"We give high priority to relations with China,'' Vajpayee said before boarding his flight to Beijing.

In Beijing, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the visit ``will have a positive impact on bilateral relations and regional peace and stability.''

Wen said China favored ``a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution'' to its decades-old border dispute with India.

``We are ready to join India in advancing this process,'' Wen said in an interview with an Indian newspaper published Sunday.

In recent years, officials from both sides have been meeting regularly to resolve their differences.

``Pending a solution, the two sides should do their best to keep the border areas peaceful and tranquil,'' Wen told The Hindu newspaper.

That strategy, coupled with efforts by Indian and Chinese industries to do more business with each other, is helping build trust between the world's two most populous nations - home to some 2.25 billion people.

There have been several high-level visits in the past three years, including by then-Indian President K.R. Narayanan in May 2000 and then-Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji in December last year.

Bilateral trade has been growing at a fast pace, increasing 38 percent annually to US$5 billion in 2002. Business groups hope trade flows will double to US$10 billion in the next three years.

During Vajpayee's visit, the two sides are expected sign half a dozen agreements on trade and investment cooperation, technology exchanges and easing visa restrictions.

China also wants to join India in pressing for developing nations' interests in the World Trade Organization, Wen said.

Beijing has also invited India to join China and Russia in holding regular trilateral talks on issues of international importance, such as Iraq.

Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal said Friday that foreign ministers of the three countries plan to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly later this year to hold such discussions.

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