Intensifying high-level visits between India and China, Chinese Vice-President li Yuanchao has come to India on a five-day tour. This is the first visit by any Chinese Vice President in 60 years.
li, who arrived in India on November 3, visited Ajanta caves in Aurangabad. On Thursday, he visited Rabindranath Tagore’s ancestral home ‘Jorasanko Thakurbari’ in Kolkata and met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Kesari Nath Tripathi. li will hold talks with his Indian
counterpart Hamid Ansari on Friday when agreements on culture and water resources will be signed. li will visit Humayun’s tomb and the National Museum on Saturday before leaving for Beijing.
While the Chinese side has said the visit is to “inject new momentum to bilateral ties”, India feels the visit will further boost ties. The two governments have intensified their engagement even since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over last year. Since last May, Modi has met Chinese President Xi Jinping five times and twice held meeting with Chinese Premier li Keqiang.
General Fan Changlong, one of the vice-chairmen of China’s Central Military Commission, will visit India in middle of November to take forward defence co-operation. According to Chinese Foreign Ministry in the recent years, with concerted efforts, the strategic partnership between China and India for peace and prosperity had been sound and stable.