New Delhi
15 December 2010
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao came the closest to addressing one of India's
many concerns when he told an industry conference soon after his arrival here on
Wednesday that he will be ready to give Indian IT, pharmaceuticals and agriculture
companies access to the Chinese market so that India's trade deficit with China of $19
billion can be bridged. Mr Wen said China takes the issue of trade imbalance seriously,
and it is ready to work with India to increase the scale and expand the scope of bilateral
cooperation.
The Chinese premier steered clear of other contentious issues, probably because the
occasion did not suit. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is understood to have
broached some of them with Mr Wen when they met over a private dinner in the evening.
The two leaders can be expected to focus at some length on trust and confidence-
building when they hold delegation-level talks on Thursday. The attempt will be to
rebalance the Chi (for energy or life force in Chinese, or Prana in yoga) in the Sino-Indian
relationship, if not to entirely reset the ties.
For its part, New Delhi is anticipated to raise the issues of China's Jammu and Kashmir
policy, Chinese infrastructure projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), and the issue
of 'stapled' visas to Indian citizens residing in Jammu and Kashmir. Then there is the
lingering border dispute, and the damming of Brahmaputra river. Government sources
said that any claims of a decline in the cases of issue of 'stapled' Chinese visas to
Indian citizens residing in Jammu and Kashmir are false. They attributed any such drop
to the fact that China has started rejecting the visa applications of J&K residents. "The
cases have come down for the simple reason that visas are not being issued to J&K
residents," an official said. The home ministry has taken strong objection to the
treatment meted out to the J&K residents. An official said Beijing must be sensitive to
India's "core" concerns just as New Delhi is to Chinese sensitivities on Tibet and
Taiwan.
Earlier, addressing the business summit, Mr Wen said there was enough space in the
world for both China and India to grow and enough areas for them to cooperate. He
dismissed the notion of rivalry or "vicious competition" between the Chinese 'dragon'
and the Indian 'elephant', saying that the two countries "are partners for cooperation and
not rivals in competition." There is enough space in the world for the development of
both China and India and there are enough areas for us to cooperate," Mr Wen said. He
described his second visit here in five years as a journey of friendship and cooperation.
He said both sides can seek to expand the areas of cooperation to include tourism,
energy, environment protection, banking and financial sector, science and technology,
education, culture and health. On the occasion, industry representatives from the two
countries signed about 50 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth $ 16 billion.
On Thursday, both sides are likely to announce the establishment of a CEOs Forum.
Agreements covering areas ranging from trade and renewable energy to infrastructure
and finance are also likely to be signed. Mr Wen will be accorded a ceremonial reception
in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. He will lay a wreath at Rajghat and then reach the
Hyderabad House for the delegation-level talks. Mr Wen will deliver a much-anticipated
speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs before holding separate meetings with Vice
President Hamid Ansari and Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. He
will call on President Pratibha Devisingh Patil in the evening and also participate in the
closing ceremony of the Chinese Festival in India, which will bring down the curtain on
the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between
India and China. On Friday, he will meet with Sushma Swaraj, the leader of Opposition in
the Lok Sabha, before leaving for Pakistan.
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