The Times of India
June 8, 2014
In the first high-level interaction with the new dispensation here, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Sunday held talks with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in key areas including trade and investment.
Wang, who is special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, arrived in the wee hours to establish political contacts with the new Indian government amid hopes of an upswing in bilateral ties due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s familiarity with China.
Both Wang and Swaraj were assisted by their delegations which comprised of senior officials from the foreign ministry.
During his two-day visit, he will call on President Pranab Mukherjee and Modi on Monday.
Wang will also be meeting leading Indian officials and will have in-depth exchanges on how to push forward bilateral relations.
The new Chinese leadership is keen to improve relations with India in the face of serious challenges it faces over its maritime disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with Vietnam, the Philippines and other maritime neighbours in the South China Sea amid a major US military push into the Asia-Pacific.
Foreign policy expert Ranjit Gupta said the visit was a “good augury”.
China has gone all out to woo the new Indian government, which is a great gesture,” Gupta, a member of the Indian Security Advisory Council of the US-India Institute, a Washington-based thinktank, said.
India and China are emerging global powers and with better relations, India will hopefully resume its growth path and reclaim its position in Asia.”
Chinese foreign minister’s visit: Tibetans stage protest
Tibetans staged a protest in New Delhi on Sunday over the visit of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the Tibet issue with him.
The demonstration was held at North Delhi’s Majnu Ka Tila area which is home to substantial Tibetan population.
The demonstrators raised anti-China slogans and carried placards urging Modi to raise the Tibet issue.
There were around 100 protesters. They have dispersed on their own,” said deputy commissioner of police (north) Sindhu Pillai.
Security has been beefed in Majnu Ka Tila and New Delhi’s Chanakyapuri area which houses the Chinese embassy.
Additional commissioner of police (New Delhi) S B S Tyagi said that there was no such protest in the New Delhi district.
China is India’s biggest trading partner
China is India’s biggest trading partner, with two-way commerce totalling close to $70 billion. But India’s trade deficit with China has soared to over $40 billion from just $1 billion in 2001-02, Indian figures show.
Experts say Modi must bridge the deficit by seeking greater access to the Chinese market, with the two sides targeting annual bilateral trade of $100 billion by 2015.
Modi warned China to shed its “expansionist mindset” at an election rally earlier this year. China hit back, saying it “never waged a war of aggression to occupy any inch of land of other countries”.
The nuclear-armed nations, both with one-billion-plus populations, are expected to focus on economic ties and border issues during Wang’s visit, following a territorial flare-up in April 2013.
India accused Chinese troops of intruding nearly 20 kilometres (12 miles) into Indian-claimed territory, triggering a three-week standoff that was resolved when forces from both sides pulled back.
The border between China and India has never been formally demarcated, although they have signed accords to maintain peace.
Meanwhile Tibet’s government-in-exile, based in India, has pinned its hopes on Modi’s government to speak up for Tibetans during Wang’s visit.
This is in the interest of India as well because Tibet, as a buffer zone between India and China, has served the interests of all neighbouring countries,” exiled Tibetan premier Lobsang Sangay said.
The government-in-exile launched a renewed push this week for greater autonomy from Beijing, which has ruled the Himalayan territory since 1951.
But China last week dismissed any possibility of discussions on Tibet, calling Sangay an “out-and-out separatist”.
India hosts the world’s largest Tibetan exile population after offering refuge to the Dalai Lama. The spiritual leader fled across the Himalayas to India after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.
