China open to nuclear cooperation with India

21 November 2006

Mumbai: India and China have decided to "promote" civil nuclear cooperation and accelerate efforts to arrive at a boundary settlement. Prime minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese president Hu Jintao, who held wide-ranging talks, came out with a ten-pronged strategy to intensify cooperation in all areas and to give "greater content" to their strategic partnership.

The two sides signed 13 agreements in all, including one for encouraging two-way investment flows and another for streamlining iron ore exports. The agreements, protocols and MoUs were signed in the presence of Manmohan Singh and Hu Jintao.

The agreements include one for promotion and protection of investments signed between commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath and his Chinese counterpart Bo Xilai. "The agreement provides a framework for bilateral investment flows between the two countries, thereby creating favourable conditions for investors of one country to make investments in the other," officials said.

India also signed an agreement allowing inspection of iron ore exported to China for quality checks and another for streamlining rice exports from India.

Accordingly, basmati rice exported to China would comply with Chinese plant quarantine laws and adhere to the relevant measures under the WTO.