NEW DELHI // China's new prime minister arrived in India yesterday on the first stop of his maiden foreign trip, with recently renewed border tensions and bilateral trade at the top of the agenda.
Li Keqiang, in a statement quoted by China's Xinhua news agency, said his choice of India as first destination "indicates the great importance Beijing attaches to its relations" with New Delhi.
The Indian foreign ministry spokesman, Syed Akbaruddin, said exchanges were aimed at "enhancing trust" between the two countries, who fought a brief but bloody war in 1962 over conflict on the border.
The Asian giants have held 15 rounds of high-level talks but the dispute in the Himalayan region of Kashmir remains unresolved.
The border row again flared last month after India alleged that Chinese troops intruded nearly 20 kilometres into Indian-claimed territory, triggering a three-week stand-off.
Mr Akbaruddin said the Chinese premier would have a "restricted meeting" with his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, before a state dinner.
Mr Li and Mr Singh will hold formal "delegation-level" talks today, which will be followed by some agreements, he said.
The talks today will also cover bilateral trade, another Indian foreign ministry official said, with India pressing for more access to the Chinese market.
Mr Li will also meet other Indian leaders including from the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
Mr Li will travel tomorrow to India's financial hub Mumbai, and then a day later to Pakistan, Switzerland and Germany.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich 1
Kimmich (27')
Real Madrid 2
Marcelo (43'), Asensio (56')
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
