Monday, March 14 2005 13:04 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Beijing: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao today (Mar 14, 2005) announced that he would visit India soon with a three-point agenda, including enhancing bilateral ties to strategic levels and to seek a "fair" resolution to the vexed boundary issue on the basis of "mutual accommodation and accommodation of reality".

Speaking at his annual customary press conference at the end of the 10-day session of the Chinese parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), Wen stressed that China and India were not rivals but friends.

As the two most populous nations in the world, China and India are not rivals but friends, and that both countries shall work together to tap the potential of bilateral cooperation and find a "fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable plan" to solve their border disputes, Wen said amid rare applause from the over 700 reporters at the cavernous Great Hall of the People.

"I hope you can send my message back to the great Indian people, that we're not competitors, we are friends," said Wen while asked to comment on bilateral relations, ahead of the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China on April 1.

"The importance of friendship between China and India is from a strategic and comprehensive perspective because our combined population is 2.5 billion, more than 40 per cent of the world's total," Wen noted.

Stating that China and India will celebrate next month the 55th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties, Wen expressed the hope that the anniversary would "become a new starting point for Sino-Indian friendly cooperation".

Wen is expected to be in India in early April at the invitation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Stressing that the development of Sino-Indian relations has "entered a new stage" in recent years, Wen said that during his planned visit, he would seek consensus mainly on three issues with his Indian hosts.

"Both China and India should fully recognise the great significance of Sino Indian friendship, not only to Asia, but also to the entire world," said Wen, adding that the importance of friendly ties was "immeasurable".

Though the annual trade volume between the two countries has now reached $ 13.6 billion, there remains great potentials for the two sides to expand cooperation and seek common development, said.

On the sensitive boundary issue, the Premier suggested that the two countries first establish the principle for the resolution of the issue, which was left over by history, on the basis of equal consultation and mutual understanding and accommodation with both respect for history and accommodation for reality.

The boundary issue, he said should be solved by "a fair reasonable solution that is acceptable to both sides. It should also be found on the basis of equal-consultations, mutual understanding and mutual accommodation, respect for history and accommodation of reality".