Beijing, June 22: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would arrive here today for a six-day official visit aimed at charting a new comprehensive road map for the future development of strategic relations between the two Asian giants. Vajpayee would be the first Indian prime minister to visit China in over a decade and this would be his third visit to Beijing during his long and illustrious political career.
He first visited Beijing in 1979 as foreign minister and then as a member of parliament had accompanied former prime minister P V Narahimha Rao during his visit to China in 1993.
Ahead of Vajpayee's visit, his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao said that the Chinese government is pleased to have the Indian Prime Minister here.
"I look forward to an in-depth exchange of views with him on bilateral relations and on international and regional issues of mutual interest," Wen said.
"India is our important neighbour. Developing friendly and good-neighbourly relations and cooperation with India on the basis of the five principles of peaceful co-existence is a key part of our diplomacy with countries in our surrounding areas," he said.
Expressing happiness over the positive momentum in the development of bilateral relations in recent years, Wen stressed that maintaining stability and development in China-India relations is not only in the fundamental interest of the two peoples but also conducive to peace and development in the region and the world at large.
Bureau Report