India, China for ‘reasonable’ border solution

During the talks here—the fourth time the two met in the past year—Hu emphasised that the two countries were not adversaries but partners, said the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson. They noted that relations between the two countries had developed in a positive direction in recent times.

After Singh referred to the huge unutilised potential for economic co-operation between the two countries, the leaders agreed that bilateral trade, now worth $9.3 billion, needed to be doubled in two or three years rather than the five targeted at the time of Wen Jiabao’s visit. Singh and Hu acknowledged that the growth of bilateral trade by 40 per cent in the last year was an encouraging sign.

President Hu said 2006 had been declared a year of friendship between the two countries, and programmes to mark the event were being planned.

Prime Minister Singh said the two sides were looking forward to the meeting of special representatives later this year in China. ‘‘We have an opportunity to look for a pragmatic solution based on these principles,’’ he said.

During the 30-minute meeting, the PM thanked China for supporting India’s participation in the ITER nuclear project in Europe.

While briefing the PM on talks over the nuclear programme in North Korea, President Hu said that China supported India becoming an observer at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and attending the East Asia summit.

There was also an exchange of views on Iran, said the spokesperson, adding that the two countries held similar positions on Tehran.

The Chinese President said that India and China were not adversaries but partners.

He added that the strategic and cooperative partnership between the two countries would benefit Asia as well as the entire world. The Prime Minister endorsed this view, the MEA spokesperson said.

(With PTI)