India and China make growth co-operation vow

Li Keqiang and Manmohan Singh meet in New Delhi. Picture: Getty

Friction has been building between the Asian giants in recent years as they vie for regional influence and access to fuel to feed their growing economies.

Li Keqiang’s trip to India, his first visit abroad since becoming Chinese premier, seems intended to minimise those tensions.

The three-day visit is part of an effort by the new Chinese leadership to reach out to large emerging economies, in an effort to balance Beijing’s fraught ties with the United States.

“Both the prime minister and I believe that there are far more shared interests between China and India than the differences we have,” Mr Li said at a joint news conference. “Without the common development of China and India, Asia won’t become strong and the world won’t become a better place.”

However, the summit was heavier on symbolism than substance, though eight minor agreements were signed. Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh will visit China later in the year, it was announced.

Mr Singh said: “I shared with Premier Li my view that the rise of China and India is good for the world and that the world has enough space to accommodate the growth aspirations of both our peoples.

“To make this a reality, it is important to build understanding between our two peoples … both sides must work to strengthen greater trust and confidence, which in turn will permit much larger co-operation.”

But behind the warm words tensions remain, including China’s unwavering support of India’s arch rival, Pakistan.

And the presence in India of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, and the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile, are a constant irritant to China.

China already sees itself as Asia’s great power, while India hopes its increasing economic and military might will eventually put it in the same league.

While China has worked to shore up relationships with Nepal and Sri Lanka in India’s traditional South Asian sphere of influence, India has been venturing into partnerships with south-east Asian nations.

Even their $61.5 billion (about £40bn) in trade last year was a source of tension because it was heavily skewed in favour of China. Mr Singh said he had spoken to his counterpart about getting greater access to Chinese markets for Indian goods.

Their most volatile dispute remains a border disagreement, which led to a bloody war in 1962 and flared up last month, just weeks before Mr Li’s planned visit.

India said Chinese troops crossed the de facto border on 15 April and pitched camp in the Depsang Valley in the Ladakh region of eastern Kashmir.

New Delhi responded with diplomatic protests and then moved its soldiers just 300 meters from the Chinese position.

The two sides negotiated a peaceful end to the standoff three weeks later by withdrawing troops to their original positions in the Ladakh area.

Mr Li said the leaders spoke candidly about the dispute. Both men said they agreed that preserving peace along the border was crucial to maintaining growth and asked mediators to work toward a framework for reaching a settlement.

Indian national security adviser Shivshankar Menon is to visit China within weeks to discuss the border issue

Indian media reports said a border co-operation agreement under negotiation proposes a freezing of troop levels in the disputed border region as the two countries make efforts to settle the issue.