India and China to boost ties, trade to US$40 billion

NEW DELHI – India and China vowed to cement their increasingly closer ties and double bilateral trade to US$40 billion by 2010, the leaders of the two of the world’s fastest-growing economies said yesterday after a summit in the Indian capital.

Chinese President Hu Jintao is in India for a four-day visit designed to boost ties that have been marked by lingering tensions dating back to a 1962 border war and rivalry over their regional roles. Speaking after the meeting, Hu and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said there was enough room for both of the emerging powers to develop simultaneously, and the two countries should work together to foster their goals in the region.Singh said they would also work to double their bilateral trade and would cooperate on civilian nuclear technology.”We will endeavour to raise the volume of bilateral trade to US$40 billion by 2010 and encourage two-way investment flows,” Singh said.Despite political irritants, India-China economic ties have grown rapidly in recent years and two-way trade is projected to reach US$20 billion this year, up from almost nothing two decades ago.It had been expected that New Delhi also seek China’s backing for a civilian nuclear deal with the United States.The deal seeks to give India access to the heavily regulated international market for nuclear fuel and technologies, and is likely to be put before the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group for approval early next year.Singh said that “cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy will be promoted,” but did not elaborate.The visit, the first by a Chinese president in a decade, also focused on seeking a resolution to political issues that divide the two countries, though no concrete steps were announced.Hu said that efforts to resolve border disputes that remain from the 1962 Sino-Indian war will be intensified.”We both believe that an early settlement on the boundary question serves the fundamental interest of our two countries,” Hu said.Talks have been going on for some 25 years.Relations between the two also have been dogged by the presence in India of the Dalai Lama and 120 000 exiles from Tibet, as well as Beijing’s strategic alliance with India’s neighbour and archrival, Pakistan.China accuses the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet’s Buddhists, of trying to divide China.Nampa-APSpeaking after the meeting, Hu and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said there was enough room for both of the emerging powers to develop simultaneously, and the two countries should work together to foster their goals in the region.Singh said they would also work to double their bilateral trade and would cooperate on civilian nuclear technology.”We will endeavour to raise the volume of bilateral trade to US$40 billion by 2010 and encourage two-way investment flows,” Singh said.Despite political irritants, India-China economic ties have grown rapidly in recent years and two-way trade is projected to reach US$20 billion this year, up from almost nothing two decades ago.It had been expected that New Delhi also seek China’s backing for a civilian nuclear deal with the United States.The deal seeks to give India access to the heavily regulated international market for nuclear fuel and technologies, and is likely to be put before the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group for approval early next year.Singh said that “cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy will be promoted,” but did not elaborate.The visit, the first by a Chinese president in a decade, also focused on seeking a resolution to political issues that divide the two countries, though no concrete steps were announced.Hu said that efforts to resolve border disputes that remain from the 1962 Sino-Indian war will be intensified.”We both believe that an early settlement on the boundary question serves the fundamental interest of our two countries,” Hu said.Talks have been going on for some 25 years.Relations between the two also have been dogged by the presence in India of the Dalai Lama and 120 000 exiles from Tibet, as well as Beijing’s strategic alliance with India’s neighbour and archrival, Pakistan.China accuses the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet’s Buddhists, of trying to divide China.Nampa-AP