President Patil to meet Hu, Wen today

Priyanka Tikoo
Beijing, May 27 (PTI) Indian President Pratibha Patil
will hold high-level talks Thursday with top Chinese
leadership, during which issues like issuance of stapled visas
to Kashmiris by China and Beijing's support for India's bid
for a permanent seat in the UNSC are likely to figure.
Patil, who arrived here on a six-day visit Wednesday,
will meet her Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, Chairman of the
National People's Congress Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao
and discuss bilateral issues and the situation in the region.
Hu, also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of
China, will accord a ceremonial welcome to Patil, the first
Indian Head of State to visit China in a deacade, at the Great
Hall of the People.
Issues like China issuing stapled visas to Kashmiris
visiting the country and Beijing's support for India's bid for
a permanent seat in the UNSC are likely to be raised by the
Indian side during the meetings.
However, officials said the President's visit was
primarily to strengthen the strategic cooperation and there
are other forums to raise such issues.
India and China are also expected to sign a number of
agreements during the visit.
Patil had on Wednesday indicated that she will seek
China's support for India's bid for a permanent seat in the UN
Security Council.
"I think so," she told journalists accompanying her, when
asked if the issue of India's bid for a permanent UNSC seat
will figure during her meeting with the Chinese leadership.
She also hoped that India will be considered for
permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
China, which is one of the five veto-wielding members of
the powerful UN Security Council along with the US, UK, Russia
and France, has been saying that it supports India's
aspirations to play an important role at the UN, but wants an
overall reform of the world body.
After completing her engagements in Beijing, Patil will
travel to Loyang in central China, where she will inaugurate
the a India-style Buddhist temple, and Shanghai where she will
visit India and China Pavilions at the Shanghai Expo 2010 and
address members of India-China business forum. PTI