Lankan Ranger
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2009
- Messages
- 12,550
- Reaction score
- 0
Indian PM & Chinese PM - Back-to-back visits to boost India-China ties
India and China are working towards stacking up more confidence building measures (CBMs) during a period of frequent consultations that could lead to the first-ever back-to-back visits by the two Prime Ministers, in coming months.
Both sides are currently finalising details of a visit by the new Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, to New Delhi. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to visit Beijing later this year, possibly in June.
Chinese Premier Mr. Li’s India trip may even be the new Premier’s first ever overseas visit if dates are worked out for next month.
A CBM with high symbolic value that both governments are working over is a hotline between the two Prime Ministers. This could add to the several CBMs announced or implemented last year in the maritime and land domains.
The year also saw the resumption of military exchanges, an agreement on joint military exercises and the holding of a dialogue on counter-terrorism.
Chinese officials are particularly keen to use Mr. Li’s visit to send a positive signal to India that the new leadership wants to take the ties to “a higher level,” as Mr. Li told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a telephonic conversation shortly after taking over last month. Dr. Singh was one of the first leaders Mr. Li spoke to after he was appointed Premier on March 15 following the session of the National People’s Congress, or Parliament.
This would send a strong message, sources said, on how the new leadership in Beijing, which took over in March following a once-in-ten year leadership change, viewed relations with India as a priority. Mr. Li is also the second-ranked member of the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee, which is headed by the Chinese President.
Chinese President Mr. Xi extended an invitation to Dr. Singh, which he accepted, following their first meeting last month on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Durban.
India and China have stepped up engagement in the lead-up to the visits by the two Prime Ministers in the hope of achieving concrete outcomes during the two visits that would signal a significant boosting of ties on various fronts, from defence ties to increasing coordination on regional challenges.
Indian Ambassador to China S. Jaishankar will reach New Delhi on Sunday for consultations to lay the groundwork for the visit of Mr. Li.
India and China on Friday also concluded two-day consultations on counter-terrorism and their officials will meet in Beijing on April 18 for the first-ever consultations on Afghanistan. Visits by Defence Minister A.K. Antony and National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon are also on the cards, as is a resumption in defence exercises which are set to be held in China later this year.
Back-to-back PM visits to boost India-China ties - The Hindu
India and China are working towards stacking up more confidence building measures (CBMs) during a period of frequent consultations that could lead to the first-ever back-to-back visits by the two Prime Ministers, in coming months.
Both sides are currently finalising details of a visit by the new Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, to New Delhi. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to visit Beijing later this year, possibly in June.
Chinese Premier Mr. Li’s India trip may even be the new Premier’s first ever overseas visit if dates are worked out for next month.
A CBM with high symbolic value that both governments are working over is a hotline between the two Prime Ministers. This could add to the several CBMs announced or implemented last year in the maritime and land domains.
The year also saw the resumption of military exchanges, an agreement on joint military exercises and the holding of a dialogue on counter-terrorism.
Chinese officials are particularly keen to use Mr. Li’s visit to send a positive signal to India that the new leadership wants to take the ties to “a higher level,” as Mr. Li told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a telephonic conversation shortly after taking over last month. Dr. Singh was one of the first leaders Mr. Li spoke to after he was appointed Premier on March 15 following the session of the National People’s Congress, or Parliament.
This would send a strong message, sources said, on how the new leadership in Beijing, which took over in March following a once-in-ten year leadership change, viewed relations with India as a priority. Mr. Li is also the second-ranked member of the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee, which is headed by the Chinese President.
Chinese President Mr. Xi extended an invitation to Dr. Singh, which he accepted, following their first meeting last month on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Durban.
India and China have stepped up engagement in the lead-up to the visits by the two Prime Ministers in the hope of achieving concrete outcomes during the two visits that would signal a significant boosting of ties on various fronts, from defence ties to increasing coordination on regional challenges.
Indian Ambassador to China S. Jaishankar will reach New Delhi on Sunday for consultations to lay the groundwork for the visit of Mr. Li.
India and China on Friday also concluded two-day consultations on counter-terrorism and their officials will meet in Beijing on April 18 for the first-ever consultations on Afghanistan. Visits by Defence Minister A.K. Antony and National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon are also on the cards, as is a resumption in defence exercises which are set to be held in China later this year.
Back-to-back PM visits to boost India-China ties - The Hindu
