Beijing: President Pratibha Patil Wednesday arrived here to a red carpet welcome as the first Indian Head
of the State to visit China in a decade for visit during which
she will meet the top Chinese leadership and sign a number of
agreements.
Patil, who arrived at the Beijing International
Airport, was warmly welcomed by Chinese Assistant Foreign
Minister Hu Zhengyue and Indian Ambassador to China S
Jaishankar.
During her six-day visit, the President will meet her
Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, Chairman of the National
People`s Congress Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao to discuss
ways and means to expand the bilateral ties.
All bilateral issues and the situation in the region
will be discussed during these meetings.
Political dialogue, cultural diplomacy and economic
cooperation will be three crucial components of the visit,
which the two countries pledged to utilise to deepen and
expand their strategic cooperation.
Besides Beijing, Patil will also travel to Loyang in
central China, where she will inaugurate the famous White
Horse Buddhist temple, and Shanghai to visit India and China
Pavilions at the Shanghai Expo 2010 and address members of
India-China business forum.
Ahead of her visit, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao
said in New Delhi that Patil`s visit also "signals our
unequivocal commitment to deepen and expand our Strategic and
Cooperative Partnership with China."
A number of agreements are under discussion between
the two countries and are likely to be signed during the
visit.
China had yesterday said the two countries would use
the opportunity to deepen their bilateral understanding and
cooperation to upgrade the Sino-India relations to a higher
level.
"We welcome President Patil`s visit to China," Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman Jiang Yu had said.
PTI
