President Pratibha Patil today concluded her six-day state visit to China, viewed here as one of the most high-profile trips by an Indian Head of State.
Ms. Patil left for home from the eastern metropolis Shanghai where she visited a Jade Buddhist temple today and gifted a statue of Buddha to it.
Before departing she also addressed a meeting of Indian and Chinese businessmen.
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Ms. Patil who arrived here on May 26 had meetings with almost all top Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.
During the meetings, Chinese leaders assured Patil of China’s support to India’s aspirations for a permanent UNSC seat as well as its support for India’s bid to get elected as a non-permanent member.
The Indian side considers this a major positive outcome of the visit, the first by an Indian Head of State in a decade.
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Chinese leaders also touched on the growing trade imbalance between the two countries, assuring that it will “seriously” address India’s concerns.
Last year the trade imbalance mounted to over $ 16 billion in favour of China.
The issue of Tibet also figured during her talks with Jia Qinglin, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Ms. Patil reiterated India’s stand that Tibet is a part of China and India would not allow its soil to be used for anti Chinese activities.
After her three-day visit to Beijing, Ms. Patil went to Luoyang where she dedicated the first Indian-styled Buddhist temple in China built close to the famous White Horse temple complex there.
She later flew to China’s commercial hub Shanghai where she visited Indian and Chinese pavilions at Shanghai Expo-2010 and unveiled a statue of poet Rabindranath Tagore at a street in Shanghai commemorating his visit to the city.
Her visit was widely covered by Chinese media.