India, China agree to build better trust, understanding

India and China today agreed to build better trust and understanding between them at the political level and not let differences become impediments in the development of their relationship.

At a meeting on the sidelines of the 7th India-ASEAN Summit in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin this morning, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao also agreed on the need to ensure that relations between the two countries remained robust and strong.

Mr Wen concurred with Dr Singh and said that issues that might arise in the course of the bilateral relations should be properly handled through discussions and should not become hurdles in the development of the friendly ties between the two countries.

The remarks assume importance given the tensions which had cropped up in the bilateral relationship on the border question between them and on Arunachal Pradesh, large parts of which China claims as part of its territory.

Dr Singh said that he agreed with Mr Wen's opening remarks that the India-China partnership was in the interest of the region and the whole world.

Mr Wen said that he agreed with Dr Singh's view on bilateral relations and recalled that it was duirng his visit to Delhi in 2005 that the two countries had jointly established their Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity.

Referring to the 10-pronged strategy agreed between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Dr Singh and the Shared Vision document they signed during the Indian Prime Minister's visit to Beijing last year, Mr Wen said it was important to implement these agreements and to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation on bilateral as well as regional and international issues.

Briefing reporters about the meeting, that lasted for nearly an hour, Mr N Ravi, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said the talks were held in a "warm and friendly atmosphere".

Mr Wen felicitated Dr Singh on his re-election as Prime Minister for a second term and noted that the two of them had reached important agreements on ways of developing and strengthening bilateral relations in recent years.

He said this served the interest of the two countries, the region and the world. He said the high-level visits between the two countries had strengthened the relationship.

According to Mr Ravi, the two leaders reviewed all aspects of the bilateral relationship. Dr Singh reiterated India's readiness to cooperate with China on global issues such as climate change, world trade and the global financial crisis.

The Prime Minister referred to ongoing bilateral cooperation in different fields and said he would like to see ties moving forward in every direction.

He said the economic and trade relations were a vital pillar of the partnership. He also referred to the exchanges in the area of defence.

Dr Singh proposed that the two countries should observe the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties in a fitting manner.

He welcomed the coming visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister to India next week for the India-Russia-China Trilateral Foreign Ministers' meeting in Bangalore. He said President Pratibha Patil was looking forward to visiting China on mutually convenient dates next year.

Mr Wen said that, for the Asian Century to become a reality, it was important that India and China should live in friendship and harmony and enjoy prosperity.

He said China was ready to maintain high-level exchanges. Both sides should seize the opportunity provided by the 60th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations to heighten the bilateral relationship, he said.

Mr Wen also agreed with Dr Singh's recent remark about both sides having enough space to develop and cooperate. He said there were sufficient areas in the world for India and China ot enhance such cooperation.

The Chinese Premier said he fully shared Dr Singh's view on the importance of enhancing bilateral trade and economic relations. He suggested that the Joint Economic Group should hold early consultations.

He also said that China would work with India to handle the matter of the growing trade deficit. He said that China encouraged its companies to invest in India and that they welcomed Indian investments in China.

"We have reached important consensus on promoting bilateral ties, and I believe that our two countries could maintain a good relationship in the future, which conforms with the interests of the two countries and I have confidence about that," the Chinese news agency Xinhua quoted Mr Wen as saying at the beginning of the talks.

Dr Singh recalled his recent meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Russia and the United States. He also conveyed his greetings to the Chinese people on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

This is the first meeting between the two leaders after irritants surfaced in the relationship in recent months.

There have been a spate of reports in the Indian media about alleged incursions from across the border into Indian territory. Both governments played down those reports.

But then China raised serious objections to Dr Singh's visit to Arunachal Pradesh on October 3 for campaigning in the state assembly elections. It also objected to the proposed visit to the state next month by the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader.

India issued a statement some days ago asking China to desist from engaging in projects with Pakistan in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK). Earlier, it had objected to the Chinese Embassy in Delhi issuing loose visas to Indians living in Jammu and Kashmir instead of stamping them on their passports.

Hua Hin, where the meeting took place, is in the Gulf of Thailand and about 200 km south of Bangkok. Dr Singh, who attended the 7th India-ASEAN Summit today, will participate in the 4th East Asia Summit tomorrow.

Apart from Mr Wen, Dr Singh was also due to have bilateral meetings with the Prime Ministers of Cambodia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and the President of Indonesia on the sidelines of the two Summits before flying back home tomorrow evening.

The two countries have a long-standing boundary question, which involves large areas along their 4000-km border. The Special Representatives of the two countries have held several rounds of talks to find a solution to the dispute but have yet to come up with a settlement.

NNN