Vajpayee to meet Chinese premier in October

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September 26, 2003 20:51 IST

In their second interaction in three months, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would be meeting his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao in Bali, Indonesia in October on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.

A senior member of the new Chinese leadership will also be visiting India in November as part of the new momentum in the Sino-India relationship.

Disclosing this at a function in Delhi on Friday to mark the 54th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, its ambassador Hua Junduo said the Sino-India relationship was in a 'healthy state' and hoped steps being taken by both sides following Vajpayee's historic visit in June this year would further consolidate bilateral ties.

Observing that Vajpayee's visit to China had achieved 'mutually beneficial and win-win results', Hua said the special representatives of the two countries, entrusted with the task of exploring from the political perspective the framework of a boundary settlement, would be meeting soon, but declined to say when.

The two sides had reaffirmed not to regard each other as a threat or adversary and reiterated their adherence to the five principles of peaceful co-existence. "These efforts have consolidated the foundation of a sound relationship," he said.

Former President K R Narayanan, who had served as ambassador to China, described the appointment of two special representatives to settle the border issue as 'imaginative' and hoped that the coming century would see friendship between the two countries.

Among others who attended the function were former external affairs ministers R L Bhatia and Hari Kishore Singh and former governor Bhishma Narain Singh.

More reports from China

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