Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Beijing on October 23-24. During his visit, he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and Chairman of the National People’s Congress Zhang Deijang among other officials.
Both sides are expected to discuss a host of bilateral issues including the signing of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement. Discussions on trans-border river issues and ways to enhance bi-lateral trade ties are also expected to be on the agenda. The two sides will also explore the possibility of Chinese investment in India through the mechanism of industrial parks. In addition, Singh will address the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China on October 24.
New Delhi and Beijing share strong bilateral and trade ties. In 2012, bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $66 billion. The two countries have set a target of $100 billion by 2015 for bilateral trade. Both sides have instituted a number of dialogue mechanisms on issues relating to counter-terrorism, policy planning and security, besides the India-China Strategic Dialogue and other regular consultations. The two sides have seen a number of high level exchanges including the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to India and the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid to Beijing in May this year.