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Chinese PM Wen Jiabao Begins Bumper Indian Trade Trip
BBC NEWS
December 15, 2010: Chinese PM Wen Jiabao has begun a three-day official visit to India today to boost trade between the two Asian giants, whose relationship is dogged by mutual distrust. Mr Wen - the latest world leader to visit India recently - has been joined by some 400 Chinese business leaders.
China is India's largest trading partner - two-way trade volumes are set to hit $60bn (£38bn) this fiscal year. The two nations fought a brief border war in 1962. Tensions remain over their shared 3,500-km (2,170-mile) border decades on from the conflict, in which China is widely considered to have prevailed.
Mr Wen - who last visited India five years ago - brings with him one of the largest teams of Chinese business leaders ever to visit India. He said that he hoped his visit would promote friendship between India and China and deepen their relationship. "There is enough space in the world for the development of both China and India and there are enough areas for us to cooperate," he told a business conference in Delhi.
The Chinese delegation dwarfs the number of trade chiefs led in recent weeks to India by US President Barack Obama (215), French President Nicolas Sarkozy (more than 60) and British Prime Minister David Cameron (about 40).
On Wednesday, the Chinese PM visited a school to discuss Chinese culture - a week after the Indian government decided to add Mandarin to the languages taught in schools.
The Chinese premier will hold talks on Thursday with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and the ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi.
"We are, from the Indian side, looking at the positive side of the outcome. The trade is growing between the two countries, the people-to-people exchanges are increasing, high-level visits are also increasing," Mr Krishna told Indian TV.
In October the Chinese premier told Mr Singh on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Vietnam that there was enough space in the world for both countries to develop.
Later this week, Mr Wen will travel to India's nuclear-armed neighboring rival, Pakistan, for a two-day official visit. Beijing is co-operating with Islamabad on missile development, cross-border infrastructure and a deep-water port.
