New Delhi, February 13
Two major decisions taken today will further improve Sino-Indian ties. China agreed to open an additional pilgrims route for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra from Demchok (Ladakh) and announced its support for India’s candidature for hosting 2014 Asian Games.

On the strategic front, China gave India a suo motu briefing on its January 11 anti-satellite missile test and assured that Beijing was against weaponisation of space.

Considering that bilateral relations between two Asian giants are already on a fast track, India and China have hiked their bilateral trade target to $ 40 billion by 2010, up from $ 25 billion reached in 2006. The two countries will also be holding a policy planning dialogue and a strategic dialogue later this year, hold talks on an early date to liberalise the existing visa regime, the Special Representative-level boundary dispute talks will be “further intensified” and the two countries will maintain “close contacts” with one another on Indian quest for permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

All these issues came under special focus as the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing held talks with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee. The two sides held talks for two and half hours, including hour-long talks in a restricted format. The talks at Hyderabad House continued over working lunch, Foreign Office spokesman Navtej Sarna said.

From people’s diplomacy point of view, the most important decision that was taken during today’s talks related to re-opening of the traditional Demchok route for Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimmage. The move will inevitably lead to a flood of pilgrims, as Demchok is quite a convenient route. Besides giving a boost to the local economy, the move will pitchfork Demchok as a gateway for India to the unexplored markets in central Asia or inner Asia.

Ladakh lost its role as the trading hub between the subcontinent, Tibet and Xinjiang ever since Sino-Indian relations turned frosty. Currently, a handful of pilgrims go to Kailash-Manasarovar through Uttaranchal or through Nepal.

On the ASAT (anti-satellite) missile test, the Chinese Foreign Minister said it was purely technical and scientific in nature and was not directed against any country. Li said his country was strictly opposed to weaponisation of space. The Indian side, too, made it clear that New Delhi was against weaponisation of space.

The two sides noted that their new consulates in Guangzhou and Kolkata would be operational this year. Both sides expressed their determination to take their bilateral relations to new heights.

Li, Mukherjee and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are scheduled to hold confabulations tomorrow under the trilateral format. The Iran crisis is understood to be on top of the agenda of this trilateral meeting.