Meeting on the sidelines of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) summit here on Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, took note of the “tranquillity and peace” on the border and referred to the coming engagement at the level of Defence Secretaries. The decision to set up a mechanism to ensure against any misunderstanding on the management of the disputed border was touched upon.
In his opening remarks at the meeting, Dr. Singh told Mr. Wen: “We are neighbours and also large growing economies of Asia. We should cooperate bilaterally and globally.” Mr. Wen underlined that the two countries should work “hand in hand” to ensure that the 21st century belonged to Asia.
Recalling the Chinese Premier's visit to India last December, Dr. Singh said it was a “milestone” in bilateral ties, during which the two sides discussed “new ideas and new approaches” to the relationship. He noted that whenever India and China worked together on climate change, it had had a “positive impact” on the global stage.
Speaking of the oft-repeated idea that the 21st century should belong to Asia, Mr. Wen said that for realisation of this goal, it was important for the two most populous countries of the world to “work hand in hand to forge ahead along the path of development. I have full confidence that the day of that kind of the world will arrive.”
