Trade, border in focus as Hu visits India

INDIA: Chinese President Hu Jintao will meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday, with burgeoning trade ties and a long-running border dispute high on the agenda.

Hu's four-day visit is only the second by a Chinese president to New Delhi in six decades, and both sides are keen to develop their relationship.

But no spectacular agreements are expected during Hu's trip, meant to help reduce distrust dating back to a 1962 border war in which India was defeated by China.

"We have differences, but we want to build a cooperative relationship that is as wide and as deep as possible so that these differences lose their salience," a senior Indian foreign ministry official said.

Despite the distrust between India and China however, trade has surged as the two Asian giants liberalised their economies.

Bilateral trade has climbed from just $260 million in 1990 to a projected $20 billion in 2006/07, and is expected to continue growing. But there are still concerns on both sides.

New Delhi, Tuesday, Reuters