Parties at Beijing meet back ties with China

Major Indian political parties support the establishment of a 'purposeful' and good neighbourly relationship with China while resolving the vexed boundary issue at an early date through dialogue.

Leaders of the Congress party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India, the Nationalist Congress Party, and the All India Forward Bloc, who participated in the third International Conference of Asian Political Parties in Beijing, said there was a consensus among Indian political parties that New Delhi and Beijing should establish good neighbourly bilateral ties and resolve their differences through dialogue.

Congress party delegate Prof Saifuddin Soz told PTI that the party fully supported all moves to promote friendship and understanding with China.

"From Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajiv Gandhi, the India-China relationship is a saga of a continuous effort to promote understanding and goodwill and purposeful relationship with China," Soz said.

Soz also said Congress party president Sonia Gandhi firmly supported the further development of India-China relations which is vital for the maintenance of peace and development in Asia and in the world.

Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong met the Indian delegates and stressed that Sino-Indian relations not only conform to the fundamental interests of the people of both countries, but are also helpful to Asia and the world at large.

The Communist Party of China values its friendship with various Indian parties, and is ready to enhance exchanges and cooperation with them, Zeng said.

BJP Vice President Sushil Kumar Modi claimed that India-China relations had achieved good momentum under the leadership of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He also cited the establishment of the Special Representative mechanism to resolve the boundary issue between India and China during Vajpayee's visit to China in June 2003.

Modi hoped that India-China ties would continue to develop, with bilateral trade growing at a fast pace in recent years.

CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri said his party is committed to strengthen India-China relations and has been working for better and deeper levels of friendship between the leaders and peoples of the two Asian neighbours.

He noted that there was a consensus in India among political parties that India-China relations should be further promoted and that all pending irritants should be discussed across the table and resolved peacefully.

"There might be occasional irritants in the India-China relationship," Yechuri said, adding that one should look at the larger interests, including benefits accruing from enhanced trade and economic cooperation.