China chill thaws,Wen is on his way

The Chinese Prime Minister said he would visit India by the end of this year. “To make this visit a productive one,I suggest that we discuss and reach a consensus on some major aspects,so as to lay a foundation for the visit,” Wen said in his opening remarks.

National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon told mediapersons in a briefing — after the 30-minute morning meeting between the two leaders — that the dates of Wen’s New Delhi visit are still being finalised. Sources said the Ministry of External Affairs has proposed December 16-17 as the dates.

To prepare the ground for substantive talks,Special Representatives of the countries will meet in Beijing before the end of November.

“In the meanwhile,the PMs said peace and tranquility be maintained along the borders,” Menon said.

While Singh,who was meeting Wen for the 10th time since he assumed office six years ago,took a broader strategic view of the bilateral relationship,he also discussed specifics. Understandably,the boundary dispute is a long-standing one and a resolution will take a while but today’s bilateral talks did not lead to any immediate positive outcome on the visa row or commencement of high-level defence exchanges between the two countries either.

“Some high-level discussions,for the present,are paused,” maintained Menon.

“Both leaders expressed satisfaction at the development of the relationship and exhibited determination to carry it forward,” said Menon. He described the meeting between Singh and Wen as warm and friendly that covered the entire gamut of relationship.

As far as the “difficult” boundary issue is concerned,the two PMs stressed the need to find an early resolution. “We agreed to carry forward the process based on the guiding principles and political parameters agreed to in 2005,” said Menon.

The Special Representatives’ meeting by November-end will work the way out,he added.

Referring to Prime Minister Singh’s Khazanah Global Lecture in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia,Wen said he agreed that the world had large enough space to meet the growth ambitions of both India and China. “He (Prime Minister Jiabao) added to it and said there is enough space to also have cooperation in all areas,” Menon pointed out.

During the bilateral meeting,Wen said China was conscious of India’s unfavourable position in the bilateral trade between the two countries. “He outlined the steps taken by China since the beginning of the year when the joint economic group of the two countries met,” Menon said.

In the first nine months,bilateral trade between India and China touched $45 billion. There is some diminution in the trade imbalance,but further measures are needed,he added. The two countries noted they are well on track to achieve the bilateral trade target of $60 billion by the end of 2010.