China’s Hu Jintao visits India

NEW DELHI – Chinese President Hu Jintao was due in fellow Asian powerhouse India yesterday for a landmark visit aimed at boosting trade and easing lingering tensions between the world’s most populous nations.

Hu’s trip is the first by a Chinese president leader since a visit by his predecessor Jiang Zemin in 1996, and an indication of the improving relations between the two countries. India’s Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee has made clear the importance his country attaches to its ties with China.”How we manage this relationship will have a tremendous impact on peace and stability in the regional and increasingly the global context,” he told diplomats last week.One senior Indian official said India and China may use Hu’s visit to announce the establishment of a hotline between the countries, “possibly at the level of foreign ministers”, to deepen trust between them.They will also sign a 10-year agreement to “increase the investment between China and India”, the official said.Trade between the economic rivals is growing rapidly and is expected to reach 20 billion dollars this year, a jump of 37,5 per cent from 2005.The two sides are also expected to continue discussions on a free-trade area embracing 2,4 billion people, about one-third of mankind.China’s ambassador to India Sun Yuxi said last week however that security-related bars to investment in India would likely be on the agenda as the issue has become a sticking point for wider trade.But the Indian official said China would be unlikely to allow private firms from India to invest in Tibet, while New Delhi would bar Chinese firms that had invested in Pakistan from operating in India.Hundreds of Tibetans held protests Monday in the Indian capital and in the home of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Dharamsala, to demand Hu address the status of their Himalayan region.Nampa-AFPIndia’s Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee has made clear the importance his country attaches to its ties with China.”How we manage this relationship will have a tremendous impact on peace and stability in the regional and increasingly the global context,” he told diplomats last week.One senior Indian official said India and China may use Hu’s visit to announce the establishment of a hotline between the countries, “possibly at the level of foreign ministers”, to deepen trust between them.They will also sign a 10-year agreement to “increase the investment between China and India”, the official said.Trade between the economic rivals is growing rapidly and is expected to reach 20 billion dollars this year, a jump of 37,5 per cent from 2005. The two sides are also expected to continue discussions on a free-trade area embracing 2,4 billion people, about one-third of mankind.China’s ambassador to India Sun Yuxi said last week however that security-related bars to investment in India would likely be on the agenda as the issue has become a sticking point for wider trade.But the Indian official said China would be unlikely to allow private firms from India to invest in Tibet, while New Delhi would bar Chinese firms that had invested in Pakistan from operating in India.Hundreds of Tibetans held protests Monday in the Indian capital and in the home of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Dharamsala, to demand Hu address the status of their Himalayan region. Nampa-AFP