Dec. 15: The visiting Chinese Premier, Mr Wen Jiabao, dismissed the notion of rivalry or “vicious competition” between the Chinese “dragon” and the Indian “elephant”, saying the two countries “are partners for cooperation, and not rivals in competition.” He said, “There is enough space in the world for the development of both China and India and there are enough areas for us to cooperate.”
The Chinese Premier steered clear of contentious issues, but in the evening Prime Minister , Dr Manmohan Singh, is understood to have broached some of them with Mr Wen when they met over a private dinner. The two leaders are expected to focus at some length on trust and confidence-building when they hold delegation-level talks on Thursday.
New Delhi is likely to raise questions about China’s policy on Kashmir, infrastructure projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the issue of “stapled” visas issued to Indian citizens residing in Jammu and Kashmir. Sources said any claims of a fall in cases of “stapled” Chinese visas being issued to Indian citizens living in Jammu and Kashmir were false. They attributed any drop to the fact that China had started rejecting visa applications of J&K residents.
Then there is the lingering border dispute, and the damming of the Brahmaputra river. An official said Beijing must be sensitive to India’s “core” concerns just as New Delhi is to Chinese sensitivities on Tibet and Taiwan.
Addressing the business summit, Mr Wen said both sides can seek to expand the areas of cooperation to include tourism, energy, environment protection, banking and the financial sector, science and tech, education, culture and health. Representatives from the two countries signed 50 memorandums of understanding worth $ 16 billion.