India awaits Chinese PM’s charm offensive

NEW DELHI - The entangled complex political issues like the stapled visas, the border dispute, the trade imbalance, devalued currency, the water dispute are expected to dominate the bilateral discourse between India and China during the visit of Premier Wen Jiabao from Wednesday.

During the visit, Jiabao has also set aside some time for soft diplomacy.

He will be visiting the Tagore International School in South Delhi, where he is expected to display his skill in the martial art of Tai Chi.

Tai Chi is one of the arts of Chinese Taoism, a tradition dating back hundreds of years. It includes Qigong, various “hard” and “soft” martial arts, acupuncture, philosophy, meditation, dance, poetry, painting and music.

Tai Chi Chuan is said to have begun in the 12th century with the legendary Chang San-Feng.

Jiabao, 68, would also hold discussions with theatre personalities, literateurs and artists, before plunging into some tough strategic discussions.

A 400-strong business delegation will be accompanying Jiabao on his visit.

Beijing has also sent across a large group of artists to take part in a ceremony to mark the end of the year-long celebrations of the 60th year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The event will take place in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the presence of Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Wen Jiabao.

India and China both have a great cultural and civilizational legacy. Currently, they are experiencing a fragility in ties, and would like to use culture as one of the mediums to deepen and strengthen bilateral bonds.

The introduction of Chinese in Indian schools is also seen as a leap forward in strengthening people-to-people contacts. (ANI)