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Krishna arrives in Beijing on a four-day visit | External Affairs Minister SM Krishna arrived here on a four-day visit to China on Monday evening along with a high-level delegation to hold discussions over various issues which concern both the countries.
Krishna was warmly welcomed at the Beijing airport by the Sun Weidong, Deputy
Director General of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China. Krishna said that the
main agenda of this tour would revolve around three core issues namely staple
visa to the Kashmiris, illegal development work in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK)
and work permits to the Chinese workers. During his China visit, Krishna is scheduled
to hold meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and attend 'Festival
of India' to be held in Beijing. Krishna's official engagements would commence
here from Tuesday with an address at the China Institute of International Studies,
(CIIS) on Sino-Indian relations in the 21st century. Earlier, while speaking to
the media on board his aircraft, Krishna said that he was optimistic about this
tour. "This visit of mine is to further strengthen the relationship. It also happens
to be the 60th year of the beginning of the diplomatic relationship between China
and India. Hence, this is something which calls for a celebration, so both of
us decided that we should celebrate this on a big scale, focussing on a cultural
identities of the respective countries," Krishna said. Krishna travels to China
to strengthen ties, recently improved by a trade boom and cooperation over climate
change that shifted the focus away from the two countries' border dispute. The
world's two most populous nations are putting the global financial crisis behind
them more quickly than developed countries, and want to build on a decade of commercial
growth that has pushed China to the top of India's list of trade partners. Nearly
half a century after war broke out between them, mistrust persists, especially
over the 90,000 sq km (35,000 sq. miles) of land in Arunachal Pradesh state claimed
by Beijing. India is also participating in a big way in Shanghai World Expo in
May. The bilateral trade boom has been a mixed blessing for India, now grappling
with a deficit in China's favour, which ballooned from a billion dollars in 2001-2
to 16 billion dollars in 2007-8, according to Indian central bank data. But both
sides say bilateral trade and investment lag far behind their potential and have
agreed to even out trade flows. The two countries are expected to lead a 9.5 percent
expansion in global trade volumes projected by the World Trade Organisation in
2010. Indian Foreign Minister Krishna's visit also coincides with the 60th anniversary
of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China. |
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