Wen Says Visit to India Historic
Visiting Premier Wen Jiabao said in New Delhi Tuesday that his visit to India was a historic one with fruitful results.
Speaking at a press conference before ending his four-day visit to India, Wen said both China and India have seen fruitful results through the visit.
"It is better to say it is a historic visit. We all believe that China's stability and development are in the interest of India, and India's stability and development are in the interest of China. The stability, development and prosperity of South Asia are in the interest of the whole world," the Chinese premier said.
To specify the importance of the visit, Wen said it has produced three major results.
The first result was that the governments of China and India "have been able to sign a joint statement to which the two sides have announced the establishment of a strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity. This means we have actually taken this relationship to a new level."
The second result, he said, was that both sides signed an agreement on the political guiding principles for the settlement of boundary question. "This is a sign that we have taken the settlement of the boundary question to a new stage as well."
The third major result was that the two countries had adopted a five-year plan for the all-round economic cooperation and trade between the two countries. "According to this plan, we have the objective that we'll make our two-way trade volume at the level of US$20 billion in 2008 and US$30 billion in the year 2010," he added.
In addition, Wen said he had made extensive exchange of views with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Indian leaders on bilateral relations and international issues of shared interest and both sides had reached agreement basically.
COMMENTSI think it's a good thing for themselves that China and India are both forging better bilateral relations. but the problem is, how will the rest of the world take it? it's a good thing for the 2 huge developing economies as they can exchange expertise and help each other's economy improve. but one major cause for concern is that when they get too pally with each other, it's almost as if they can become a threat to the rest of the world given their immense size of the population, economy and the source of labour. for example, between them, China and Indie account for a high percentage of the world's cheap labour. Imagine if they gang up and use their large population size to their advantage, wouldn't it spell trouble for the rest of the world who are so dependent on Indian and Chinese goods and labour? But on the other hand, it is not guaranteed that China and India can smooth out all their past wrinkles so easily. sure, it's easy to say on agreements and on paper, but practically, it's a whole new ball game. there are many other factors to consider, and if these existing problems have lasted for decades, what makes China and India think they can settle them with the help of agreements, in just a few years? Labels: Posted by Vera (4)
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