Prime Minister on three-day official visit to China

Jun 05:  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit China on a three-day official tour from January 13 to 15 to discuss various bilateral political and economic issues.

Even though both the countries have economic, political and military competency, India and China are likely to produce themselves as complementary forces working for prosperity and security in the Asian region.

â??He will have wide ranging discussions with new Chinese leadership,â?? said Pranab Mukherjee, Foreign Minister of India.

"The visit is expected to be successful but if you are expecting that there would be any dramatic turnaround on certain issues, which are long-pending, then it would perhaps be too much," he said, while asking about whether border dispute since short but bloody India-china 1962 war would be discuss or not.

It is being expected that Prime Minister will restrain himself from visiting other Chinese cities and will remain in the Capital Beijing discussing and interacting with different sections of Chinese leadership.

During his visit, he will have official talks with Premier Wen Jia bao, meet President Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, chairman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress and other senior Chinese leaders.

A highly qualified Economist himself, Manmohan Singh will have an added advantage in expressing his views on the emerging economic scenario in the world with business leaders in China , while addressing an economic summit in Beijing.

China is being expected to intensify pressure on India to negotiate bilateral free trade agreement. Trade and Economic Relations Committee, TERC under Prime Minister's leadership will meet soon to fix the agenda for this visit.

The joint task force constituted for the possibility of FTA will probably submit its report during PM's visit to China . The sources did not completely rule out the possibility of implementation of FTA, because negation to FTA might hamper its relation with China.

India will likely ask China to annul export duty on coke as Chinese coke was hampering India 's steel industry owing to high quality of Chinese coke. It will also urge china to eradicate restrictions on imported agricultural products from India.

In 2005 after the visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to New Delhi , and President Hu Jintao in November 2006, India and china entered into a Strategic Partnership. The last visit by the Indian side was made four years back, when the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited China.