Visas a technical issue,must discuss,says China

In first official remarks on visa restrictions on citizens seeking employment in India,China said the issue had been raised by some Chinese companies operating in India.

In first official remarks on visa restrictions on citizens seeking employment in India,China on Wednesday said the technical issue had been raised by some Chinese companies operating in India and needed to be addressed properly through consultations.

Beijing also underlined that in a globalised world,visa policies needed to facilitate greater people-to-people movement between countries.

Responding to a query from The Indian Express during an interaction with South Asian and South-East Asian journalists,Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun said entrepreneurs need a convenient atmosphere to run businesses. He said he met leaders of Chinese companies when he was in India last month and some business people mentioned the issue of visas.

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I think this is a technical issue… Through consultations,this issue can be addressed properly. It is also in Indias interest, he said. The general view of Chinese companies on business operations in India was satisfactory. They believe there is great prospect for business operations in India. They said their Indian counterparts also wanted them to increase their contribution. They hope to expand their operations and employ more Indians locally.

He said Chinese and Indian leaders had identified pushing bilateral trade to $60 billion in 2010,up from $50 billion in 2008 and decline to over $40 billion in 2009 because of global meltdown. I believe if we make the right efforts,we can even exceed that target.

Pointing out that China and India together have a population of nearly 2.5billion,Chinese Vice Foreign Minister called for greater exchanges between the countries,saying the present two-way traffic was very small.

People-to-people contact between China and India needs to increase significantly. It should not be counted in terms of percentage,it needs to grow manifold and not just double or triple, he said. The annual traffic of visitors between China and India,he said,was just one million as against the five-million mark between China and the Republic of Korea.

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Responding to a query on the Chinese reaction to terror on its soil with the assistance of militants based in Pakistan and Central Asia,Zhang Zhijun said countries needed to address not just symptoms but also ensure the root causes are stamped out.

Terrorism poses the biggest threat to peace and stability in China and the region. We hope to step up cooperation with other countries,including Pakistan and some Central Asian countries,and regional organisations like the Shanghai regional cooperation,to fight terror in all its manifestations, he said.