New Delhi, Nov. 1: Mr Zhou Yongkang, the ninth-ranking member of the Communist Party of China (CP) politburo and the Chinese President, Mr Hu Jintao’s pointman on North Korea and Tibet, called on the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, here on Monday. Mr Zhou, also the secretary of the political and legislative affairs committee of the CPC central committee, is visiting India at the invitation of the Congress.
The CPC and the Congress’ foreign affairs cell jointly organised a seminar on “China and India: 60 years and beyond” here, where both Mr Zhou and the external affairs minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, participated.
Mr Krishna said a hotline linking the Prime Ministers of India and China was expected to become operational soon. He said Sino-Indian relations were “grossly underutilised” and the divergence of views between the two often “exaggerated”. Not only must the two cooperate, he said, they should also be seen doing so by the rest of the world.
Mr Zhou said China’s development was an opportunity, not a threat to India, just as India’s development was not a threat but an opportunity for China.
He said both should deal with controversial issues and disagreements with “mutual respect, consultation on an equal basis and mutual understanding and accommodation”.