PM Singh foresees closer economic relations with China - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Before leaving for Brazil to attend the BRIC and IBSA summits in Brasilia, The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, categorically told the media that while there are certain issues that still need to be addressed with China, India saw its relations with Beijing as good and healthy, and added that both would continue to take steps to enhance ties, particularly on the economic front. Interacting with media here after the conclusion of the two-day-long Nuclear Security Summit, Dr. Singh said: “We have the border problem and that problem is to be resolved. We are working very hard to find a practical and pragmatic solution to the problem, but we both recognize that it will take time.” He further said that both countries have agreed that pending the resolution of the border issue, peace and tranquility should be maintained along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and, by and large, that is the situation that remains on the ground. Dr. Singh said that as far as India’s relations with China are concerned, the economic content of the relationship has increased significantly, adding that "China is today probably India’s largest trading partner and there are large Chinese investments in our country." While on the subject of increasing economic ties with China, Dr, Singh informed that it is headed in the right direction, and recalled that at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference held last December, India and China had worked very closely in organising their positions, and, there is now recognition in China that in multilateral issues, there is a similar of approach India and China can gain by working together.