Vientiane: India and China today (Nov 30, 2004) agreed not to allow the vexed boundary problem to slow down the momentum in their bilateral relations and work out a "realistic" solution based on "ground realities".

In their first high-level interaction, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao, "We shall show accommodation but an accommodation must take into account ground realities."

"Mutual understanding should be complete and mutual accommodation should be realistic," Singh told Wen, according to Indian National Security Adviser J N Dixit.

Wen's visit to India in March next year "is the most important item on my agenda and it will send a positive signal throughout the world," Singh told him during their 40-minute interaction.

Wen said that while China was extremely frank in resolving the boundary question, it was by no means an "easy task and calls for confidence and patience".

Singh told him that the four rounds of official level talks between the two sides were "useful" and expressed the hope that the progress made so far must move forward to settle the boundary issue within the guiding principles of parameters.