On the boundary issue, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said India and China have the “wisdom” to find a mutually acceptable solution to the problem which the two sides have not shied away from addressing. He said he was “satisfied” with the “candid, frank and fruitful” talks he held with Dr Manmohan Singh over the last two days and other Indian leaders during which both sides were able to put “all issues on the table”. “China and India are strategic partners. The most important outcomes of these meetings we had was that we have expanded our strategic mutual trust and reached a number of new positive outcomes,” he said.
He added that pending a final solution, the two sides “should improve relevant mechanism for dealing with border affairs, including efficiency, properly manage and jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in border areas.” This, he said serves the shared interests of two countries.
On India’s concerns over trans-border rivers, the Chinese Premier said China understands India’s concerns on it and it has “all along” provided assistance to India on hydrological information on floods and handling emergencies. “We have strengthened communication with India on development and utilisation of cross-border rivers,” he said.
On his meetings with Prime Minister Singh, he said: “We have been able to put everything on the table. Maybe for some outsiders many of the issues are sensitive ones. We have been able to discuss all these matters because we have the intention of carrying out sincere exchanges and we have the wisdom for addressing those problems.” Mr Li said both he and Dr Singh discussed issues concerning regional security. “This is the issue where both China and India have a stake. We hope to see peace and stability in South Asia. A peaceful and stable South Asia is consistent with China’s development interest and it will enable China to focus on addressing problems at home and resolve the issue of balanced development between the eastern and western parts of the country,” he said.
On the trade front, Indian power equipment manufacturers and power capital goods companies have in the past demanded the imposition of more import duties on Chinese products to protect domestic industry.
The Chinese Premier said, “We need to reduce the trade imbalance. Our two-way trade is less than $70 billion and we need to enhance the dynamics of trade balance.” China is willing to launch negotiations on a China-India regional trading arrangement.
Economic cooperation, he said, constitutes an important part of Sino-Indian ties and the growth potential of the two economies can provide the engine for greater cooperation.
“China and India are huge markets with great potential... Our industrial structures are highly complimentary. India has a competitive edge in IT, software and bio-medicines, while China is seeing rapid expansion in machinery, textiles and emerging industries,” said Mr Li.