Chinese President Hu Jintao begins a historic visit on Monday to improve political and economic links between the two Asian giants. Hu's trip is the first by a Chinese president since a visit by his predecessor Jiang Zemin in 1996, and is an indication of the improving relations between the Asian giants.
Last week, the Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee made clear the importance the country attaches to its ties with China when he addressed diplomats. "How we manage this relationship will have a tremendous impact on peace and stability in the regional and increasingly the global context," he said.
One senior Indian official, who declined to be named, said India and China may use Hu's visit to announce the establishment of a hotline, "possibly at the level of foreign ministers", to deepen trust between the two countries. They will also sign a 10-year agreement to "increase the investment between China and India", the official added.
Trade between the neighbours is expected to reach 20 billion dollars this year.
China's Ambassador to India Sun Yuxi said security-related bars to investment would likely be on the agenda when Hu visits. But the Indian official said China would be unlikely to allow private firms from India to invest in Tibet, while New Delhi would bar Chinese firms that had
invested in Pakistan from operating in India.
Despite the improving relations between the world's two most populous countries, "anxieties and wariness" remain, said C.U. Bhaskar, a senior analyst at the New Delhi-based Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses. New Delhi remains cagey of China's close ties with Pakistan, and has bristled over its support for Islamabad's nuclear power industry and military.
Beijing, for its part, is wary of New Delhi hosting Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 and created a government-in-exile.
India and China have also still not resolved their border dispute, despite several rounds of talks.
New Delhi says Beijing occupies 38,000 square kilometres (14,670 square miles) of Indian territory in Kashmir, illegally ceded to it by Pakistan in the 1950s, while Beijing claims 90,000-square-kilometres in Arunachal Pradesh. A formal ceasefire line is yet to be established, but the unsettled frontier has remained largely peaceful, thanks to agreements signed in 1993 and 1996.
Source: TOI
Last week, the Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee made clear the importance the country attaches to its ties with China when he addressed diplomats. "How we manage this relationship will have a tremendous impact on peace and stability in the regional and increasingly the global context," he said.
One senior Indian official, who declined to be named, said India and China may use Hu's visit to announce the establishment of a hotline, "possibly at the level of foreign ministers", to deepen trust between the two countries. They will also sign a 10-year agreement to "increase the investment between China and India", the official added.
Trade between the neighbours is expected to reach 20 billion dollars this year.
China's Ambassador to India Sun Yuxi said security-related bars to investment would likely be on the agenda when Hu visits. But the Indian official said China would be unlikely to allow private firms from India to invest in Tibet, while New Delhi would bar Chinese firms that had
invested in Pakistan from operating in India.
Despite the improving relations between the world's two most populous countries, "anxieties and wariness" remain, said C.U. Bhaskar, a senior analyst at the New Delhi-based Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses. New Delhi remains cagey of China's close ties with Pakistan, and has bristled over its support for Islamabad's nuclear power industry and military.
Beijing, for its part, is wary of New Delhi hosting Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 and created a government-in-exile.
India and China have also still not resolved their border dispute, despite several rounds of talks.
New Delhi says Beijing occupies 38,000 square kilometres (14,670 square miles) of Indian territory in Kashmir, illegally ceded to it by Pakistan in the 1950s, while Beijing claims 90,000-square-kilometres in Arunachal Pradesh. A formal ceasefire line is yet to be established, but the unsettled frontier has remained largely peaceful, thanks to agreements signed in 1993 and 1996.
Source: TOI