Chinese Foreign Minister to meet Manmohan, Pranab today

New Delhi, Sept 8 : Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who arrived in Kolkata on a three-day visit to India on Sunday, will reach here this afternoon to meet Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and to hold delegation level talks with the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The Indian leadership is expected to convey its disappointment about Beijing's stand at NSG meet at Vienna for granting waiver to New Delhi's nuclear trade.

Reports from Vienna suggested that China, which initially refrained from saying much on the India-specific waiver from the (NSG), started playing an "active role" to try to block a consensus before the nuclear cartel decided to give India the waiver on Saturday.

Beijing's stand at Vienna came as a surprise to India especially after Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao had assured Manmohan Singh that their country would take a constructive stand on the issue.

Mukherjee is also hosting a special dinner and a cultural show in honour of Yang.

Soon after his arrival in Kolkata, Yang inaugurated the Chinese Consulate General.

"I think it is a good omen for our friendship and cooperation in the future. And I have come specifically on this occasion to open the Consulate General. And this shows China's sincere desire to develop good relationship with India. And foreign minister (Pranab Mukherjee) is my good friend; I am looking forward to my meeting with him tomorrow (Monday)," Yang said.

In May, Mukherjee inaugurated the Indian Consulate-General in Guangzhou city in south China's Guangdong province.

Yang's visit to India follows a similar visit to Beijing undertaken by Mukherjee in June 2008. The four-day visit saw the world's most populous nations talking the language of partnership. The ministerial exchanges follow Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to China in January this year.

Trade ties, the border dispute, the situation in Tibet and other issues of bilateral, regional and global importance to the two countries are likely to figure in the discussions next week.

ANI