Wen Jiabao Holds Talks with Indian Counterpart Singh
2010-12-17 14:26

On December 16, 2010, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao held talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

In their talks, Wen said the relationship between China and India has experienced an unusual course of development over the past 60 years. However, friendly cooperation has always been the main stream, which is not only in the interest of both countries and peoples, but also helpful for peace and development of the region and the world at large. The development of China-India relations has a direct bearing on the interests of 2.5 billion people and is of great significance to Asia and the world at large. The Chinese premier pointed out that this year marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-India diplomatic ties. He said he is satisfied with the progress of bilateral relations over the years and looks forward to the future. The two countries should grasp the historical opportunity to boost political and strategic mutual trust and move forward the China-India relations along the track of lasting friendship, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development, Wen added.

Singh said that high-level exchanges between China and India have become closer, and political and strategic mutual trust has continuously improved. He said that the comprehensive cooperation in all fields has been enhanced ever since the two countries established a strategic and cooperative partnership five years ago. At present, the two countries are at a crucial stage of development, Singh said. He said the enhancement of communications and cooperation was not only conducive to the development of India and China, but also will push forward the rejuvenation of Asia and promote world peace and development. "I believe the visit of Premier Wen will push the celebrations on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties to a new high and give a new impetus to bilateral relations," Singh said.

During their talks, Wen and Singh held in-depth, candid talks and reached broad consensus on bilateral ties as well as major international issues. Both sides agreed to establish a mechanism for regular exchanges of visits between heads of state/government. They also welcomed the opening of a telephone hotline between the Chinese premier and Indian prime minister, exchanging views in a timely manner on major issues. Wen and Singh agreed to continue making use of the meeting mechanism between special representatives in border issues, and to seek fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solutions through negotiations and consultations based on relevant political guiding principles. The two sides should work jointly to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas before the border issues are resolved, the leaders agreed.

Both sides, meanwhile, decided to establish a strategic economic dialogue mechanism and a China-India CEO's forum, and to set a new bilateral trade target of 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2015. The Chinese side said it will increase import from India and facilitate the access of India's IT products, pharmaceuticals and agriculture products to the Chinese market. India welcomed the Chinese enterprises' participation in India's transportation infrastructure construction. Both sides held that the two economies are highly complementary and there is huge potential for their cooperation. Both sides should further expand mutual investment and promote cooperation on high-tech, energy, mining, environmental protection, green technology and finance to achieve mutual benefits in a larger area and at a higher level.

The two countries declared that the year of 2011 will be the "Year of China-India Exchange," during which each side will invite 500 young people from the other side for a visit. A variety of activities will be held so as to help deepen exchanges and cooperation in the youth, media and education fields, promote mutual understanding between people from all walks of life of the two countries and carry on China-India friendship from generation to generation.

The two sides agreed that, as the world's two biggest developing nations, China and India share wide-ranging common interests in international affairs, and the two countries will strengthen coordination and cooperation in important international organizations, such as the United Nations, and the mechanisms like the Group of 20 and the BRIC nations. Both sides said they hold similar stances on the issue of climate change and have maintained fine communication and coordination in this regard, and vowed joint efforts to safeguard their common interests and push forward the process of international cooperation on climate change.

During the talks, Singh said that the Tibet Autonomous Region is part of the Chinese territory, and that the Indian government does not allow anyone to carry out anti-Chinese activities on its land. Premier Wen expressed his appreciation for India's stand and hoped the Indian side will adhere to the correct position on this issue.

Wen said that, for long, out of friendship with India and humanitarian concerns, China has overcome difficulties to provide India with documents and materials on cross-border water and rivers which are necessary for India in times of emergency. Wen said China will continue to do so. Singh, on his part, expressed his gratitude for that.

During their meeting, the two leaders also exchanged views on regional situations.

Prior to the talks, Wen attended a welcome ceremony held by Prime Minister Singh. After their talks, both leaders witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation agreements by both sides in the fields of economy, culture, environmental protection and media. The two sides also issued a joint communique.

On the same day, Wen also laid a wreath at the Tomb of Gandhi.

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