Issues abound as Indian leader visits China

Issues abound as Indian leader visits China There’s plenty on the table as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Beijing next week.
   It’s the first visit of the Indian political leader to China in five years, but since that time, bilateral trade between the two neighboring nations has grown from $5 billion in 2002 to nearly $35 billion in 2007 through November, the Asia Times reported Tuesday.
   Among the topics on the table will likely be India’s widening trade deficit with China — it stands at $9 billion in 2007 after India enjoyed an $843 million trade surplus with its rival as recently as 2005, the newspaper reported. There is also simmering mistrust over India’s proposed civilian nuclear deal with the United States and the Indian’s government unwritten ban on Chinese firms operating in its ports and telecommunications sector.
   On the flipside, China continues to serve as an arm’s length ally to India’s nemesis, Pakistan, helping with energy and port construction that India sees as a strategy to isolate the Subcontinent.
   Despite these tensions, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Singh are expected to sign trade and environmental regulatory agreements that will see some sort of collaboration emerging between two of the world’s biggest developing powers.