Chinese President Visits India

Transcription

1 Chinese President Visits India The President of China Mr. Xi Jinping paid a three-day state visit to India on September 17-19, The visit of Chinese President began on a positive note in Ahmedabad on September 17, 2014 with Mr. Xi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi sharing a rare bonhomie and two agreements and one memorandum of understanding. India and China signed 13 agreements in New Delhi on September 18, 2014 as Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping called for speeding up the boundary resolution process. India raised concerns over the standoff at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh and repeated incidents along the border. Chinese President made a special announcement on opening a new route for pilgrims to Kailash-Mansarovar in the Tibetan Autonomous Region under the Memorandum of Understanding for Railways, both sides agreed to work on raising the speed and more co-operation on the Chennai - Mysore route as well as discussing the bullet train project. China has pledged to invest $20 billion in India over five years. The joint statement between India and China released on September 19, 2014 recorded progress on many fronts between the two leaders, including on the Chinese plan for a BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India Myanmar) economic corridor and China's support for India's "aspirations of playing a greater role" at the UN Security Council. But even the statement recognises the primacy of the border dispute in relations, concluding that peace on the India-China border areas is an "important guarantor" for the growth of bilateral relations. Day One - September 17, 2014: There were many firsts on September 17, 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Chinese President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad. It was the first time an Indian Prime Minister received a foreign head of state outside Delhi. There was also a departure from the tradition of signing international agreements in the national capital. Modi made the exception because he wanted to showcase Ahmedabad's development to Xi. And then, Xi became the first Chinese leader to be feted at a civic reception in six decades. Zhou Enlai was the last to have been accorded a public reception on June 28,1954. Relations, which had nosedived after the 1962 war, improved in later years but not to the extent where an Indian leader would make a public show of engagement with a neighbour of which people remain wary. Gujarati pride brimmed over as Xi began his India visit from Ahmedabad a city which has never hosted a head of state with a six-hour tour, guided by an elated Modi celebrating his 64th birthday. A high-level delegation from China that accompanied President Xi Jinping to Ahmedabad signed three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with India in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17, The pacts, signed within hours of Xi's arrival, will focus on boosting trade and investment between the two countries. The agreements include one between the China Development Bank and the Industrial Extension Bureau of Gujarat government for developing industrial parks in the state. The MoU is an extension of commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman's talks with her Chinese counterpart, Gao Hucheng, in June, Chinese investors from the field of electrical, electronics, plastic and other sectors will set up units in the parks. Another pact was signed between China's Guangdong province its most populous and Gujarat for developing a 'sister province'. The MoU covers cooperation in trade and industry, environmental studies, science and technology, health, culture and tourism, waste water management, sports and infrastructure. And the third MoU was between Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Guangzhou for knowledge-sharing on various issues. Top industrialists from both countries attended the business meet.

2 Xi was accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan and a delegation of senior government officials during his maiden trip to India. He was received by Gujarat governor O P Kohli and CM Anandiben Patel and other senior state ministers. Day Two - September 18, 2014: India and China signed 13 agreements in New Delhi as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping called for speeding up the boundary resolution process. India raised concerns over the standoff at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh "and repeated incidents" along the border. The past caught up with the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping to elevate bilateral ties, leading the Prime Minister to protest against China's bid to escalate tensions in Ladakh. It was the festering border row which Modi sought to address first in his meeting with Xi as he told him that peace along the borders was imperative for mutual trust and for realizing the full potential of Sino-Indian relations. Pitching for a quick clarification of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Modi told Xi that China had to restore the status quo that existed in Ladakh before September 10 when intrusion by Chinese troops began. Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj also took up the matter with her counterpart Wang Yi. The Chinese, president came back with a response when he told Modi he had "noted" India's concerns and that the incidents in Ladakh may be a fallout of the non-demarcated border. On the other hand, India and China signed a record 13 agreements where Beijing promised investments worth $20 billion in five years, a very different figure from the $100 billion indicated by Chinese officials in Mumbai a few days ago. But India opened the doors to Chinese investment in infrastructure, including upgrading railway tracks, stations and doubling the speed of trains. Xi said China would welcome India into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, but expects India to welcome it into SAARC. India may find this difficult. China in SAARC would effectively isolate India. As a sweetener, China offered a new road to Kailash Mansarovar through Nathu La in Sikkim.But Modi, like Manmohan Singh before him, made peace on the border a precondition to increased cooperation. China will work with India to build one of the proposed high-speed train corridors. Indian Railways will identify the project to be developed with Chinese cooperation. This corridor could possibly be the Delhi-Patna one via Varanasi or Bangalore-Chennai. The China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group and other Chinese enterprises will conduct the feasibility study for one high-speed corridor and prepare a project report with its financing. China will also assist Indian Railways with its semi-high speed plans. It will help strengthen tracks so that the maximum speed of passenger trains can be increased to 160 kmph from 130 kmph. To begin with, Chinese engineers will help commission the Chennai-Bangalore-Mysore corridor and help augment train for 160 kmph. After the recent successful trial on running a semi-high speed train from Delhi to Agra, Indian Railways has identified eight other corridors to run similar semi-high speed trains. As per the action plan signed by both sides, Chinese experts will survey and design specified sections and train Indian personnel. The China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group will coordinate with the High-Speed Rail Corporation, a subsidiary Rail Vikas Nigam Limited. Both sides agreed on a training programme for 100 personnel (five batches of 20 trainees for two-three weeks). Emphasis will be on onsite training covering operational and maintenance facilities, monitoring systems and traffic control. Summary China pledges to invest $20 Billion in India over five years; 13 pacts inked 1. Five-year trade and economic development plan Boost economic ties Reduce trade imbalance

3 India's Trade with China (Figures in $ million) Export Import Total Export as % of import Modernise Railways Study feasibility of partnership in high-speed railways Redevelopment of railway stations 3. Tie-up in Railways Prepare action plan for cooperation on specific projects 4. Audio Visual Co-production Enable producers to pool resources to co-produce films 5. Customs Administration Share information to fight trans-border economic crimes 6. Use of outer space Exploration of outer space for peaceful purposes 7. Drug Administration Cooperation in fields of drug standards, traditional medicine 8. Cultural Exchange Collaboration between cultural institutions 9. Sister City Pact Foster exchanges between Mumbai and Shanghai 10. New Pilgrimage Route Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nathula Pass in Sikkim 11. Sustainable Trade Enhance market access to Indian products

4 12. Promotion of Literature China to be guest of honour at New Delhi World Book Fair ACRE industrial park near Pune Provide cluster-type development

5 US Open The last Grand Slam of the year 2014 US Open-came to an end in New York on September 8, Barred from US Open in 2013 to a doping ban, Croatian Marin Cilic won Men's title to script a fairytale in Arthur Ashe stadium on September 8, Serena Williams won her 18th Grand Slam title. American twins Bob and Mike Bryan became the first doubles pair to win 100 titles together. Sania Mirza clinched her third mixed doubles Grand Slam crown with Bruno Soares. MEN'S SINGLES Marin Cilic clinched his first Grand Slam title with a 6-3,6-3, 6-3 victory over Kei Nishikori in the US Open final on September 8, 2014, shattering the Japanese's bid to become the first Asian man to win a Major. The 25-year-old Cilic, the 14th seed, became the first Croatian man to win a Slam since Goran Ivanisevic, now his coach, at Wimbledon in Cilic, playing in his 28th Grand Slam, is the lowest-ranked champion since Pete Sampras, then 17th in the world, who claimed the 2002 title in New York. WOMEN'S SINGLES World No. 1 Serena Williams won her 18th Grand Slam title at last, overpowering Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3 on September 7, 2014 to capture her sixth US Open crown. The world No. 1, shut out in the first three majors of the year, ended a year of waiting as she joined Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on 18 majors - trailing only the 22 of Steffi Graf on the Open era list and six behind the all-time record held by Margaret Court. Most Majors 24 -Margaret Court 22 -Steffi Graf 19 -Helen Wills Moody 18 -Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Serena Williams MEN'S DOUBLES American twins Bob and Mike Bryan became the first doubles pair to win 100 titles together after they beat Spain's Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 6-3,6-4 on September 7, The World No. 1 duo broke the 11th seeds once in each set to claim its fifth U.S. Open title and take its 16th Grand Slam title together. The twins were champions here in 2005, 2008, 2010 and WOMEN'S DOUBLES Martina Hingis's hopes of winning her first Grand Slam doubles title since 2002 were shattered when the Russian pairing of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina took the title. Makarova and Vesnina beat Martina Hingis and Flavia Pennetta 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 on September 06, MIXED DOUBLES Sania Mirza clinched her third mixed doubles Grand Slam crown as she and partner Bruno Scares overcame a few anxious moments in the match tie-break to win the US Open in New York on September 05, 2014.

6 The Indo-Brazilian pair, the top seeds, squandered five championship points before registering a 6-1, 2-6, 11-9 win over USA's Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico. The match lasted exactly an hour. Sania's previous titles came with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi, the duo winning the Australian Open in 2009 and French Open in It was Soares's second US Open mixed doubles crown. In 2012, he won the title along with Russia's Ekaterina Makarova. Final Results: At a Glance Events Winners Runners-up Men s Singles Marin Cilic (Croatia) Kei Nishikori (Japan) Women s Singles Serena Williams (United States) Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) Men s Double Women s Doubles Mixed Doubles Bob and Mike Bryan (United States) Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina (Russia) Sania Mirza (India) and Bruno Soares (Brazil) Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez (Spain) Martina Hingis (Switzerland) and Flavia Pennetta (Italy) Abigail Spears (USA) and Santiago Gonzalez (Mexico) Boy s Singles Omar Jasika (Australia) Quentin Halys (France) Girl s Singles Marie Bouzkova (Czech Republic) Anhelina Kalinina (Ukraine)