PHNOM PENH: China’s new leadership will accord great importance to relations with India, outgoing Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh during a meeting here.
Wen said he cherished working with Singh over the last eight years during which they met for 14 times.
The new Chinese leadership will give “great importance” to relations with India, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai quoted Wen as saying.
“We established good working relationship and friendship between us. This is reflection of friendship between our two great nations,” Wen told Singh on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit here in the Cambodian capital.
Singh and Wen have met 14 times earlier and the Chinese Premier said this meeting could be the last as he would be demitting office in March.
“This is possibly the last meeting between us in my remaining tenure,” 70-year-old Chinese leader said, while referring to the change of leadership in China under which he will demit office in March.
Wen is expected to be replaced by Li Keqiang as Premier.
Singh hailed Wen’s personal endeavor to make the bilateral relationship “stronger, wider and deeper”.
He specifically referred to Wen’s two visits to India in 2005 and 2010, saying these helped make the ties “stronger”.
“I personally value working with you,” Singh told Wen.
Trade imbalance
Singh invited Chinese investments in the infrastructure sector while conveying India’s concerns over trade imbalance to his counterpart Wen Jiabao, who said this could be addressed “gradually”.
India and China will be holding the second Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) in Delhi later this month with an aim of enhancing business engagement between the two of the fastest growing economies, significantly at a time when the western world is facing crisis.
After the SED, a date will be decided for the next round of talks between Special Representatives of the two countries on boundary and other issues, to be held in China shortly.
Singh emphasized that he was committed to working for realization of “full potential” of economic cooperation between the two countries, Mathai said.
Singh referred to Indian exports and “emphasized the need for greater market access for Indian exports particularly in areas of Services, IT and Pharma”, Mathai said.
“The Prime Minister also welcomed Chinese investment in infrastructure sector which he said would help create employment and help bridging trade deficit between the two countries.” Mathai said. -PTI
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