PM Manmohan Singh meets Xi Jinping,raises Brahmaputra dam issue

While China has maintained that these are run of the river projects,the Indian side has felt that prior consultations would help build greater confidence.

During the meeting,Singh said,”The relationships with China is of great importance to us. As the Prime Minister of India,it has been my great privilege to interact regularly with the Chinese leadership over the last decade… I hope to to intensify this dialogue and communication with you and the new leadership of China to put our relationship in an even higher growth trajectory.”

Singh also extended an invitation on behalf of President Pranab Mukherjee to Xi. He recalled the invitation given to him from Chinese Premier Li Kequang during their recent phone conversation and hoped to visit soon. Official sources indicated that Singh may undertake a vist later this year.

While the situation in the South China Sea did not come up in the conversation,the officials emphasised all other issues were touched upon in the 45-minute meeting. They seemed to suggest that issues like the Sino-Pak relations and the concerns in Tibet did also find mention

Earlier in the day,during a lunch for BRICS leaders,Xi told PM that he was keen on continuing the personal equation Singh had achieved with his predecessor as as former Premier WenJiabao. The PM recalled this in the bilateral meeting and said this was the time for both countries to step up engagement in all spheres,

Singh called on President Xi,who took over as President earlier this month as part of decadal change of power structure in China,on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit which the two leaders attended here.

This is the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders at the highest level after the recent change in power structure in China.

“Water was discussed,” official sources said tersely after a 25-minute meeting late last night after the summit without getting into specifics.

The Prime Minister is understood to have conveyed to President Xi concerns in India over the Chinese proposal to construct three dams across Brahmaputra.

India has said the proposal would affect water flow to India while China says it was just run-of-the mill project that would not hold water.

The entire expanse of the bilateral relationship was discussed and the meeting was very positive,the sources said.

The two leaders expressed regards for each other.

Both expressed a desire to continue their relationship. The sources said during an informal discussion at the summit earlier in the day,President Xi told Singh that he was aware that the Prime Minister had good relations with his predecessor Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao and he would like to carry forward that.

Last week,in an interaction with BRICS journalists in Beijing,Xi had said he was looking forward to meeting Singh in Durban.

Xi had warm words about relations with India and proposed a five-point formula under which both the countries would accommodate each other’s concerns in matters of “core interests”.

Xi,who has also assumed the role of chief of the Communist Party and army,had said the boundary question was complex left behind by history and peace and tranquility should be maintained.

Pending settlement of the issue,both the countries should not allow differences to come in the way of overall development of the bilateral ties.

At the meeting,the Prime Minister invited President Xi to visit India to which he said he accepted it and would make the

Singh was assisted by National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon while Xi was assisted by the new foreign minister,two politburo members and Yang Jeichi,state counsellor who has replaced Dai Binguo. (With PTI inputs)