China may back Indias demand for permanent UNSC seat- Chinese Prez Hu Jintao Assures Indian Prez Patil Of Readiness To Talk The Complex Issue; India Sees Response Significant

Beijing: Chinese president Hu Jintao on Thursday assured visiting Indian President Pratibha Patil that China was ready to discuss the complex issues relating to Indias quest for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. Chinas response to Indias position was a significant improvement over its earlier stance on the matter,foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said. Chinese leaders including premier Wen Jiabo said they wanted to ensure a greater role for India in the UN especially in the Security Council,Rao told reporters after the meetings. She said it as a positive step on the Chinese side and did not amount to mere guarded and diplomatic language. China also said it was going to back Indias candidature for a nonpermanent seat in the Security Council for the year 2010-11. But it did not come out with clear support for a permanent seat besides offering to discuss the matter in greater detail. Rao did not elaborate on what steps would be taken to set up a mechanism for talks on the issue. Beijing agreed with India on the need for reforms in the Security Council and wanted greater representation for developing countries in it, Rao said. India is apparently building on the new bond that has emerged during the Copenhagen talks on climate change in order to persuade Beijing to agree on a partnership in groupings like BRIC and multilateral platforms like the United Nations. The leaders agreed with each other that there was a need to consolidate the relationship between the two countries by to make sure that no single episode or issue could do damage. They accepted the need to maintain peace and tranquility on the border until the boundary dispute was resolved by special representatives of both sides engaged in negotiating the matter.

Patil raised the issue of trade imbalance and suggested that China consider diversifying purchases of Indian goods and services from the pharmaceutical,engineering and information technology industries. Chinese leaders said they were equally keen to address the problem of trade imbalance. During the visit, the two countries signed three agreements on giving visa on arrival to airline crew, on cooperation in the field of civil services and in the area of sports and youth affairs.
===================================
Hindi songs played to charm Patil

Chinese leaders charmed Pratibha Patil by playing Bollywood songs at the banquet and expressing their love for Rabindranath Tagore. Chinese musicians played four Bollywood songs Geeta Dutts Mere naam chin chin chu based on the portrayal of a Chinese girl in Howrah Bridge, Gore gore baki chore, Baar baar dekho and Roja janeman. President Hu Jintao said China wanted to set up a gallery on the two visits by Tagore to China in 1924 and 1929 at Rabindra Bharati university in Kolkata. Vatsala Kotnis, sister of Dwarkanath Kotnis who is respected for his medical services to China during the Japanese invasion in 1937, will join Patil at a reception on Friday.
================================
(source-toi)