Beijing: The message coming out of the Great Hall of the People — overlooking Tiananmen Square — the venue for the India-China summit is clear. China wants to be seen as a partner and not a rival.

“The chemistry and the body language of both the leaders goes to prove that both the sides are dealing with each other, despite the problems which will be dealt with by the special groups,” observed a highly placed official in the Ministry of External Affairs. No wonder then both the sides avoided discussing Tibet, “except for a passing reference”.

And the controversy over incursions in Arunachal Pradesh did not even find a mention. Both the leaders made it a point to clarify that India-China relations were not targeted at any country, nor would they affect their friendship with other countries. The undercurrent of the talks was clearly that of building new synergies, while living with the fact that there are problem areas both sides need to deal with.

Ways is set to become the first non-US airline to operate out of China with a Mumbai-Shanghai-San Francisco service likely from next month. “We are hopeful and optimistic. You ask the Chinese government.We are hopeful,” Commerce Minister Kamal Nath told reporters. “We attach the highest priority to developing the cooperative and beneficial partnership relationship with China,” Singh said at the beginning of talks with Wen.

Following talks at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of the national legislature in central Beijing, the two signed a document setting out their shared vision for future growth in ties and reiterated their commitment to resolving the long standing boundary dispute. The new target calls for two way trade to reach $60 billion by 2010, up from the former target of $40 billion. Bilateral trade grew to $37 billion last year,with the balance heavily in China’s favour. Joint military drills would be held in India, although neither man provided specific dates.

Source : DNAIndia