India, China coming closer on world stage: China Daily

Beijing, Mar 24 (PTI) Actively interacting at
international forums, "old neighbours" India and China have
become "new friends" to shape up the world, a state-run daily
said Thursday, painting an upbeat picture of ties ahead of
next month's BRICS summit.
Lauding the growing alignment on the global stage
between the two ancient civilisations, a write up in China
Daily, however, acknowledged that there is a gap in mutual
understanding.
"From BRICS to the United Nations, China and India are
getting closer on the world stage.
"The two ancient civilisations on each side of the
Himalayas are now striving to get to know each other better,"
said the one-page write portraying an upbeat picture of the
steady development of the relations between the two countries.
The piece comes ahead of next month's summit of
Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS).
"The two ancient civilisations are emerging on the
global stage and bringing the world greater prosperity, but
the same time there is a gap in mutual understanding," it
said.
It noted that while China's economy became the world's
second-largest last year, India's economic growth is expected
to further accelerate this year.
"Both Asian giants with a combined population of more
than 2.3 billion, meet each other next month around the table
of the BRICS. The third BRICS summit being hosted by China
would be on April 14 and 15 at the picturesque Sanya resorts
in Hinan province to be attended among others by (Indian)
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," it said.
Besides attending the summit, Singh is scheduled to
meet Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines.
A lot of significance is being attached to the meeting
as it is taking place just about three months after the fence
mending visit of Premier Wen Jiabao to New Delhi during which
Wen made some key promises to look into India's concerns
relating to the issuance of stapled visas to residents of
Jammu and Kashmir and measures to provide bigger opening to
Indian products to reduce the alarmingly widening bilateral
trade imbalance in favour of China.
Observers here say that Wen-Singh meeting will be
watched with interest to see whether India received any
indication of a roll back of the stapled visa policy to resume
the defence relations between the two countries which New
Delhi put on hold last year after visa was denied to top
Indian Army General B S Jaswal on the ground that he headed
troops in Jammu and Kashmir.
Indian officials say no new incidents of such visas
being issued to J and K residents have happened in recent
months.