Economic relations will be the most important item on the agenda, with trade between the neighbours touching the $20 billion mark.
NEW DELHI: Hours before President Hu Jintao arrived in New Delhi, India sent out a reassuring signal to his country: Chinese companies that want to do business in India will not face discrimination. There are no country-specific rules for entering the Indian business space, a senior external affairs ministry official said.
Hu was received by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The formal welcome and talks are scheduled for today.
India and China had declared 2006 their friendship year, and Hu’s three-day visit is its high point. Ten agreements, including one on bilateral investment protection, are likely to be signed. Economic relations will be the most important item on the agenda, with trade between the neighbours touching the $20 billion mark.
Indian officials said the relationship has matured over the years, allowing the two countries to work together despite some differences. “India wants to deepen and strengthen relations,” an official said.
Progress was made last April when China’s Premier Wen Jiabao visited India and signed an agreement on strategic and co-operative partnership.
Indian officials said Hu’s visit is of global significance because the two countries account for a third of the world’s population. “It is a signal that India and China are partners, not rivals,” a foreign ministry official said.
Though Beijing has firmly opposed New Delhi’s nuclear ambitions in the past, the two countries are now ready to co-operate in civilian nuclear energy. When Manmohan Singh and Hu meet in Hyderabad House today, an exchange on energy security will get priority.
With both countries expected to become economic powerhouses, stable energy supplies will be a necessity. Indian officials pointed out that China has helped Delhi in the past by supplying fuel for Tarapur in 1995. The “possibilities are there” for nuclear co-operation, Mukherjee said.
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