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Modi visit: India, China ink 24 agreements, discuss border, trade
Beijing, May 15
The vexed India-China boundary
issue failed to see much progress as both sides reiterated their
position to seek "a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution as
early as possible" after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
Premier Li Keqiang here on Friday that saw both countries ink 24
agreements, including to boost people-to-people connect.
Modi,
who held one-on-one and later delegation level talks with Li here, said
he had held candid, constructive and friendly talks with the Chinese
leadership that covered all issues, including "those that trouble smooth
development of relations". On Thursday, Modi held summit level talks
with President Xi Jinping in Xi'an during which all issues were
discussed.
Modi said he had "stressed the need for China to
reconsider its approach on some of the issues that hold us back from
realizing full potential of our partnership" and that Beijing should
"take a strategic and long term view of our relations. I found the
Chinese leadership responsive".
Modi said both sides reiterated
their "strong commitment to make all efforts to maintain peace and
tranquility in the border region".
"I found sensitivity to our
concerns on this issue and interest in further intensifying confidence
building measures. I also reiterated the importance of clarification of
Line of Actual Control in this regard," said Modi.
He said had
sought "tangible progress" on issues relating to visa policy and
trans-border rivers and that he had discussed "some of our regional
concerns".
The joint statement issued said that an early
settlement of the boundary question should be pursued as a strategic
objective and that both countries are "determined to actively seek a
political settlement" of the issue.
Both sides noted the progress
in talks by the special representatives on the border issue and
"reaffirmed the commitment to abide by the three-stage process for the
settlement of the boundary question, and continuously push forward
negotiation on the framework for a boundary settlement based on the
outcomes and common understanding achieved so far.
They said
their differences "should not be allowed to come in the way of continued
development of bilateral relations" and agreed to expand the exchanges
between the border commanders, and establish border personnel meeting
points in all sectors of the India-China border areas.
The
statement said that India-China ties "are poised to play a defining role
in the 21st Century in Asia and indeed, globally" and that both "agreed
that the process of the two countries pursuing their respective
national developmental goals and security interests must unfold in a
mutually supportive manner with both showing mutual respect and
sensitivity to each other's concerns, interests and aspirations".
On
bilateral trade, both agreed to take necessary measures to remove
impediments, facilitate greater market access to each other's economies
and also resolved to take measures to alleviate the skewed bilateral
trade.
The two sides inked agreements on setting up provincial
partnership between Karnataka and Sichuan and sister-city relationships
between Aurangabad-Dunhuang, Chennai-Chongqing and Hyderabad-Qingdao.
Modi
said both President Xi and Premier Li "were very receptive to the
specific concerns I had raised on our growing trade deficit. We look
forward to early impact on the ground".
He said their decision to
open consulates in Chengdu and Chennai reflects the growing mutual
confidence and shared commitment to expand their bilateral ties.
Later,
inaugurating the first India-China Forum of State and Provincial
Leaders here, Modi said that greater cooperation between India and China
at the state and provincial level would help translate the vision of
enhancing cooperation into reality besides promoting greater
people-to-people contacts.
He described the forum as "a new vehicle for advancing cooperation between our two countries".
Modi
said Chinese President Xi Jinping has spoken in terms of $20 billion of
Chinese investments in India over the next five years during his visit
to India last year.
"President spoke of 20 billion dollars of
Chinese investments over the next five years. Some of the business
agreements will take shape in Shanghai tomorrow (Saturday)," he said.
On
Thursday, Modi and Xi held "extremely productive" summit level talks
during which the border issue, the widening trade imbalance and
"strengthening trust" were high on the agenda.
Modi arrived in
Beijing late Thursday on the second leg of his visit and tweeted his
"special thanks" to Xi for an "extremely productive meeting" earlier in
the day in Xi'an.