Narayanan, Dai Bingguo to discuss Sino-Indian border issue from Monday

Decks have been cleared for the 11th round of negotiations on the Sino-Indian border issue to be held in Beijing from next Monday.

New Delhi, Sept.19 : Decks have been cleared for the 11th round of negotiations on the Sino-Indian border issue to be held in Beijing from next Monday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said that the three-day meeting would be co-chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo and Indian National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan.

The China Daily also quoted her as saying that the US-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement, signed in July 2005, would figure in the discussions between Bingguo and Narayanan.

Yu's comments came on the sidelines of a high-profile three-day visit by Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon.

Menon met senior Chinese officials in Beijing on Tuesday, including State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Assistant Foreign Minister He Yafei.

The bilateral talks are believed to have focussed on firming up the forthcoming first visits of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to China.

While no date for Singh's visit has been announced, it could reportedly take place in November or December.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi is expected to visit China next month.

Calling Menon an old friend, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan reflected on their joint work earlier that resulted in two agreements on Sino-Indian border issues.

The China Daily quoted Tang as saying that he believed that Menon would continue to push forward the Sino-Indian strategic partnership in his current capacity as Foreign Secretary.

During Singh's proposed visit, India is expected to formally inaugurate a new consulate in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province. The office will look after India's interest in China's southern and south-eastern provinces.

The new mission is the result of an agreement between Beijing and New Delhi under which India sets up a consulate in Guangzhou and China in the eastern Indian port city of Kolkata.

Last week, Jiang had said that China has always believed that all countries have the right to cooperate on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, provided they abide by international obligations.

"We will participate in the discussions on relevant issues under this principle," Jiang said, referring to the Indian-US nuclear cooperation pact.

ANI