Chinese premier visits India; trade push in offing

New Delhi, Dec 15: The Chinese premier Wen Jiabao arrived in India in what can be termed as a ground-breaking visit amidst tensions and apprehensions on the strained relationship between the two countries.

The visit also marks 60 golden years of Indo-China friendship and close to 6-7 pacts are expected to be signed. Trade, banking and finance will top the agenda. The Chinese delegation will comprise around 400 members, including businessmen and deals worth $ 20 billion is expected to be conducted.

Also, controversial topics will also be highlighted in Jiabao's visit to the capital. This includes the Jammu and Kashmir stapled visa issue, China's worrying presence in certain regions within India, unwarranted nuclear support to Pakistan, and also construction of dams on the Brahmaputra .

The visit will herald new trade relations between the two emerging countries inspite of the underlying tensions involving territorial disputes. Easing trade restrictions, managing trade surplus, modifying banking laws are all in the pipeline and set to be discussed.

Wen Jiabao's visit comes in close heels after Obama's and Sarkozy's visit in close succession. India and China can easily be described as the world's fastest growing economies. According to industry estimates Indian economy could leap ahead of Japan by 2014.

India hopes to strengthen relations with China even in the wake of India threatening to snap defence ties with China this year.

OneIndia News