China's Wen seeks delicate balance in Indo-Pak trip

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Head of Business Development of bKash Limited Adel Ahmed and Head of Accounts of BRAC University Monojit Kumar Ojha exchanging documents after signing an agreement on behalf of their respective sides in the city recently. The deal was signed with a view t

BEIJING, Dec 13 (agencies): Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visits India and Pakistan this week with the delicate task of easing Indian suspicions about China's rise while reaffirming close ties with New Delhi's rival Islamabad.
Wen travels to Asia's other rising giant India on Wednesday for an expected two-day visit with an agenda topped by festering border disputes that have vexed ties between the world's two most populous countries for decades.
He then travels to Pakistan for a three-day stop where a range of deals will highlight the two sides' close relations.
In New Delhi, Wen-who said in October there is "enough space in the world" for China and India-is expected to highlight increasing trade and developing-country solidarity in talks with his counterpart Manmohan Singh.
But Beijing's ambassador to New Delhi Zhang Yan admitted Monday the relationship was "fragile" and needed "special care", while analysts said India was likely to raise a number of concerns.
These include their competing claims over Himalayan border regions-which saw them fight a war in 1962 and an issue which has come to the fore again with recent strong assertions by China of its territorial rights.
Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said recently ties will improve if "China shows more sensitivity on core issues that impinge on (India's) sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Analysts, however, expect no breakthroughs on the border issue.
"The Indian government has not been forthright in raising strategic issues with China and now is the right time for them to sensitise China," said Sujit Datta, an international conflict expert at Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi.
Delhi is also concerned about alleged trade barriers that contribute to a trade deficit with China estimated by some at 25 billion dollars this year.
Zhang suggested Monday that the two countries "should work together as a world factory and world office," while Liang Wentao, deputy director general of China's commerce ministry, said the trade imbalance was due to structural factors.
He again dismissed Indian concerns over a dam on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet that has raised fears it could disrupt water supplies downstream in India and harm ecosystems.
A further irritant is Beijing's unwillingness to back India joining it as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, unlike US President Barack Obama.
Wen's trip to Pakistan, meanwhile, will aim to further cement a relationship both sides describe as "all-weather."
China will announce it has extended cooperation in 36 development projects in Pakistan and will sign agreements in energy, infrastructure and other sectors, Pakistani foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit told AFP.
Wen will meet with Pakistan's president and prime minister, and address parliament, a rare honour.
Pakistan is believed to be holding talks with China to build a new nuclear power station in the energy-starved South Asian nation.
China has already built a 300-megawatt reactor in central Punjab and another will be operational early next year-causing concerns in Washington over the security of atomic material in the nuclear-armed, terrorism-wracked country.
The trip comes at a sensitive time for big-power relations with the sub-continent.
The US has close ties with Pakistan but worries about its commitment to stamping out Islamic extremism, in addition to the nuclear fears.
During Obama's visit to India last month he hailed India-US ties and unveiled deals worth 10 billion dollars including nuclear technology transfers. Islamabad was left off his Asian tour.
The trip was widely viewed in part as a warning to Pakistan that US patience had its limits.
Wen, meanwhile, will seek to assure Islamabad that it can count on Beijing's continued backing, analysts believe.
"The visit is significant because China... wants to show that it gives a lot of importance to Pakistan," defence analyst Talat Masood said.
"Although Wen is going to India also, he added Pakistan to reaffirm that it stands with Pakistan."
Another report adds: Relations with India are "fragile", China's ambassador said Monday, but the two countries can work together to emerge as a "world factory and a world office".
Ahead of a visit to India Wednesday by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, ambassador Zhang Yan said trust was badly needed between the neighbours. "It is a fragile relationship and it needs special care," Zhang said.
Taking up the view that Asia can accommodate the rise of both countries peacefully, Zhang stressed how both had different strengths-China in manufacturing and India in the IT and outsourcing sectors.
"The two neighbouring countries should work together as a world factory and world office," Zhang said at a summit organised by an industry body in New Delhi.
Wen's two-day visit sees an agenda topped by festering border disputes that have vexed ties for decades between the world's most populous countries.
In New Delhi, Wen is expected to highlight increasing two-way trade in talks with his counterpart Manmohan Singh.
India is likely to raise concerns including their competing claims over two Himalayan border regions-a bone of contention over which they fought a war in 1962 and which has come to the fore again with recent strong assertions by China of its territorial rights.
"Both sides should not allow the border issue to effect other aspects of the equation," Zhang said.
India's Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said New Delhi looked forward to a growing economic partnership and invited fresh Chinese investment in infrastructure