The Hindu Business Line : India, China aim at $20 b in bilateral trade

INDIA and China today opened a new chapter in bilateral relations, with China backing for the first time India's claim for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council and both sides evolving the political parameters and guiding principles for the settlement of the long-simmering boundary issue.

Speaking to newspersons on the talks between the visiting Chinese Premier, Mr Wen Jiabao, and the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, the Foreign Secretary, Mr Shyam Saran, described the four-day visit of the Chinese leader to India as "extremely successful".

"The visit has produced important results which are very far-reaching in character and set the pace for a much more accelerated development in our bilateral relations."

He added that both leaders have resolved to "upgrade" their relations to "strategic co-operative partnership for peace and prosperity", and said categorically that being the two biggest developing countries they would not work against this or that issue but for the common cause of development.

Sikkim is no longer an issue in India-China relations and has been put behind, Mr Saran added.

After signing a dozen agreements in important areas to strengthen co-operation, the leaders issued a joint statement that said that both sides stressed that all-round expansion of India-China economic co-operation - including trade and investment - was an important dimension of a stronger India-China relationship.

The two countries agreed to make joint efforts to increase the bilateral trade volume to $20 billion or higher by 2008.

They also welcomed the report of the Joint Study Group (JSG), which had identified a series of measures related to trade in goods and services, investments, and other areas of economic co-operation.

The leaders tasked the Ministerial-level India-China Joint Economic Group (JEG) to consider these recommendations and co-ordinate their implementation. The JEG would hold the next meeting within six months.

According to Mr Saran, Mr Wen said that though there were "considerable complementarities" between the two countries, India with its software and China with its hardware potentials could marry each other's strength and also jointly work in areas like bio-technology, nanotechnology and space research.

China made it clear during the meeting that "a strong, stable and prosperous India" serves its interest.

The JSG has recommended an India-China Regional Trading Arrangement, comprising trade in goods and services, investments, identified understandings for trade, and investment promotion and facilitation.

The two leaders agreed to appoint a Joint Task Force to study in detail the feasibility of and the benefits that might derive from the India-China Regional Trading Arrangement.

Both sides noted that the Agreement on the Establishment of a Financial Dialogue Mechanism would further facilitate the dynamic and diversifying economic co-operation.

They would continue consultations on concluding the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA).

Noting with satisfaction that the two countries have signed the sanitary and phytosanitary standard (SPS) protocols for the export of grapes and bitter gourd from India to China, the two sides also agreed to set up a Joint Working Group to implement expeditiously the MoU on application of SPS between the Chinese general Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the Indian Ministry of Agriculture.

The two sides recognised the importance of strengthening mutual connectivity and agreed to jointly work towards further enhancement of direct air and shipping links, tourism and people-to-people contacts.

Both agreed to co-operate in the field of energy security and conservation, including among others, encouraging relevant departments to engage in the survey and exploration of petroleum and natural gas resources in third countries.

On development issues, the two sides expressed support to democratisation of international relations and multilateralism, and agreed to stand for the establishment of a new international political and economic order that is fair, rational, equal and mutually beneficial, and promote North-South dialogue and South-South Co-operation.

Both sides also agreed to conduct regular exchange of views on major global and regional issues, strengthen co-operation in the WTO, and to continue the consultations on other issues of common concern.

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