CHINESE PREMIER LI KEQIANG'S VISIT TO INDIA
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang paid a three-day visit to India in the third-week of May. During this visit India and China expressed a strong desire to resolve pending issues and take the relationship forward in new spheres such as civil nuclear energy during two rounds of discussions in New Delhi on May 20 and 21, 2013 between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Border Issues
The two leaders decided to entrust the task of ensuring incident like Depsang do not recur to the two Special Representatives (SRs), who have also been asked to speed up work in their core area of demarcating and delineating the border by trying to achieve closure on the second of the three-stage process of resolving the border question. India could not get its way with an upgraded joint mechanism on trans border rivers to quell its concerns about construction activity on the Chinese portion of the Brahmaputra. But both sides signed a pact-among the eight between the two sides-to increase the frequency of exchange of hydrological data.
There was some progress on the economic front-an area that Beijing maintains is the centre piece of the visit from its point of view-with China holding out the promise of addressing India's complaints about market access for its three exporting mainstays of IT, pharmaceuticals and food products. In addition to seeking to resolve the existing issues of border, water and trade through further discussions, the two leaders also set milestones for the future by listing new areas of cooperation such as civil nuclear energy and ensuring seamless connectivity between Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar.
• India, China lay road map for better ties and trade.
• Agree to evolve mechanism to ease border tension, address trade balance.
• Sign eight pacts for bilateral boost.
• China realizes the need to accord due consideration for Indian sense of national pride.
• Special representatives to ensure that Depsang type incidents don't recur.
• They will meet soon to work on boundary agreement.
• Both countries to cooperate in civil nuclear energy.
• Three working groups drawn up to boost trade between the two nations.
• China to make further improvements to existing facilities for Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims. It will also provide information of water level discharge and rainfall on the mainstream Brahmaputra river.
• Both nations to join hands in finding water efficient irrigation methods for agriculture.
EIGHT Agreements
The two leaders firmed up eight agreements to enhance cooperation in a range of areas including trade, culture and water resources.
The agreements were signed after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang.
To enhance trade, both sides decided to set up three working groups under the joint Economic Group. The three groups are Services Trade Promotion Working Group, Economic and Trade Planning Cooperation Group and Trade Statistical Analysis Group.
The pact for setting up of the working groups was signed by Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and his Chinese counterpart Gao Hucheng.
In 2012, bilateral trade between the two countries was $ 66 billion, a decline from over the $ 74 billion mark in 2011. The two countries have set a target of $ 100 billion by 2015 for bilateral trade.
As per an agreement signed by External Affairs
Minister Salman Khurshid and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, China will make further improvements to the existing facilities for Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims including providing them with wireless sets and local SIM cards.
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