China President Xi's India visit: Beijing to make $100-billion investment commitment, but proposed visa pact put off
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NEW DELHI: Chinese President
Xi Jinping who arrives in India on his maiden visit on Wednesday with $100 billion
investment commitments over five years across various sectors will be disappointed that the proposed visa liberalisation agreement is off the agenda. Beijing's intransigence of not following a 'one-India' policy by continuing with stapled visas for
Arunachal Pradesh residents is the reason why India has put off signing the agreement.
The two sides had earlier decided to sign the visa agreement to ease travel for tourists, business travelers and professionals from either country during Xi's visit.
However, official sources pointed out that India decided to put off the proposed pact to send out a strong message. By refusing to enter into the
visa pact till Beijing stops issuing stapled visas, India was asserting that Beijing's stand on Arunachal was unacceptable.
But this is not the first time that India has refused to sign the proposed visa pact. The Modi government is following the footsteps of the previous dispensation that had refused to sign the agreement during Manmohan Singh's last Beijing trip in October 2013. India was upset that the Chinese embassy in India issued stapled visas to two Arunachal Pradesh athletes days before Singh's visit.
China, however, had hoped that it could clinch the visa liberalisation agreement with a new government in Delhi that was willing to expand bilateral economic and investment links. The new visa pact would have enabled smooth travel of large number of Chinese professionals and entrepreneurs following the agreements to set up two industrial parks and announcements of $100 billion investments during Xi's trip.
The visiting President will offer the amount for setting up of industrial parks, modernisation of railways, highways, ports, power generation, distribution and transmission, automobiles, manufacturing, food processing and textile industries.
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Modi will host a dinner for Xi on the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad on Wednesday afternoon. Thereafter the two leaders will travel to Delhi for dialogue on Thursday on all substantive issues of interest, including the protracted border issue, transgressions along the Line of Actual Control including recent ones, Tibet issue, Beijing's maritime silk route proposal, Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar corridor, bilateral trade issues, terrorism, global financial issues and regional situation and pressing global issues.
Modi will receive Xi when he arrives at his hotel in Ahmedabad. Xi will be accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, two senior members of the Communist Party of China, the state councilor and ministers of foreign affairs and commerce, besides a huge business delegation.
The two leaders will witness inking of agreements and both will spend some time at the Sabarmati ashram. On Thursday, Xi will be received by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Among others who would call on Xi would be Congress party president Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Source:
China President Xi's India visit: Beijing to make $100-billion investment commitment, but proposed visa pact put off - The Economic Times
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Seriously, when It was said they are going to invest 36 billion dollars, PTI were jumping around for their so called leader defense?
Edit: Keep in mind, 1 day of Chinese president visit was increase due to Absence in Pakistan
