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| India PM visits China for summit | India PM visits China for summit |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has arrived in China for a three-day visit aimed at improving the strained relations between the two countries. | Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has arrived in China for a three-day visit aimed at improving the strained relations between the two countries. |
| Mr Singh will meet President Hu Jintao as well as Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and the Communist Party's second highest leader, Wu Bangguo. | Mr Singh will meet President Hu Jintao as well as Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and the Communist Party's second highest leader, Wu Bangguo. |
| Their talks are expected to focus on territorial disputes and increasing bilateral trade, worth $37bn (£18.9bn). | Their talks are expected to focus on territorial disputes and increasing bilateral trade, worth $37bn (£18.9bn). |
| In December, the powerful states held a landmark joint military exercise. | In December, the powerful states held a landmark joint military exercise. |
| The war games in the south-western Chinese province of Yunnan, the first of their kind between the two largest armies in the world, involved just over 100 soldiers from each side. | The war games in the south-western Chinese province of Yunnan, the first of their kind between the two largest armies in the world, involved just over 100 soldiers from each side. |
| Military ties between the countries have been tense since a brief but bloody border war in 1962. | |
| Trade discussions | Trade discussions |
| Mr Singh's trip to China, the first by an Indian prime minister in nearly five years, will see him visit several venues featuring in this year's Olympic Games in Beijing, before he attends talks with Chinese leaders on Monday and Tuesday. | Mr Singh's trip to China, the first by an Indian prime minister in nearly five years, will see him visit several venues featuring in this year's Olympic Games in Beijing, before he attends talks with Chinese leaders on Monday and Tuesday. |
| It's going to be a major business event... bilateral trade has registered impressive growth Shiv Shankar MenonIndian Foreign Minister Aiming low at summit | It's going to be a major business event... bilateral trade has registered impressive growth Shiv Shankar MenonIndian Foreign Minister Aiming low at summit |
| The visit comes at a time when trade between India and China is booming and officials said the bilateral talks are expected to focus on surpassing the $40bn target the two countries agreed to reach by 2010. | The visit comes at a time when trade between India and China is booming and officials said the bilateral talks are expected to focus on surpassing the $40bn target the two countries agreed to reach by 2010. |
| "It's going to be a major business event... bilateral trade has registered impressive growth," Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon told reporters before the delegation left Delhi. | |
| "We would like to sell much more to China and hence we set up the joint study group, because in the last few years, trade shifted in China's favour and we are hoping to change that," he added. | "We would like to sell much more to China and hence we set up the joint study group, because in the last few years, trade shifted in China's favour and we are hoping to change that," he added. |
| India's trade deficit with China has risen from around $4bn to $9.6bn since 2006, according to the Indian ministry of trade, and could exceed $12bn by the end of the financial year. | |
| Correspondents say there is strong competition as well as co-operation between the two booming economies, because they are vying for the same markets and natural resources. | Correspondents say there is strong competition as well as co-operation between the two booming economies, because they are vying for the same markets and natural resources. |
| Border dispute | Border dispute |
| The talks in Beijing are also expected to touch on the unresolved territorial disputes which lay behind the 1962 conflict, but have been the subject of special negotiations since 2003. | The talks in Beijing are also expected to touch on the unresolved territorial disputes which lay behind the 1962 conflict, but have been the subject of special negotiations since 2003. |
| The powerful neighbours held a joint military exercise last year | The powerful neighbours held a joint military exercise last year |
| Ahead of his visit to China, Mr Singh said he would discuss "issues relating to the boundary", which are believed to include concerns that Chinese troops have made numerous incursions across the border into India over recent months. | Ahead of his visit to China, Mr Singh said he would discuss "issues relating to the boundary", which are believed to include concerns that Chinese troops have made numerous incursions across the border into India over recent months. |
| India's relations with China have also been complicated by Beijing's strategic alliance with Pakistan, which it has supplied with arms and missile technology. | India's relations with China have also been complicated by Beijing's strategic alliance with Pakistan, which it has supplied with arms and missile technology. |
| China, meanwhile, has expressed concern about India's involvement in the so-called axis of democracy that includes Japan, Australia and the United States. | China, meanwhile, has expressed concern about India's involvement in the so-called axis of democracy that includes Japan, Australia and the United States. |
| The BBC's Daniel Griffiths in Beijing says both Mr Singh and the Chinese leaders he meets will emphasise the positive aspects of their relationship in the coming days. | The BBC's Daniel Griffiths in Beijing says both Mr Singh and the Chinese leaders he meets will emphasise the positive aspects of their relationship in the coming days. |
| But it is going to be a long time before the two Asian giants really trust each other, our correspondent says. | But it is going to be a long time before the two Asian giants really trust each other, our correspondent says. |