N-deal: China is supportive, Wen Jiabao tells Manmohan Singh

As AEC chairman Anil Kakodhar opened talks with IAEA chief Mohammed ElBradel in Vienna for an India-specific safeguards agreement to operationalise the nuclear deal, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that his country was “forthcoming and supportive” of international civil nuclear energy cooperation with India.

India more important than Pak, says US

The US has said broad-based partnerships between America and India are critical and more important as compared to Pakistan, as New Delhi is growing as a potential power with global influence.
“The US-India strategic potential is very, very profound,” deputy assistant secretary of defence for South and South-East Asia James Clad told online journalists and bloggers during a conference call from the Pentagon.
While India’s sometimes contentious neighbour, Pakistan, continues to search for Osama bin Laden and help wage the global war on terror on terrorism, Clad explained, the US-Indian relationship was more important in the long run.
“India simply must, as a long-term consideration. matter more for us than Pakistan,” Clad has been quoted as saying in the American Forces Press Services.
“India is seen as potentially a power with global reach,” Clad said.
“It’s been slow in coming – I think it would be slow in coming future – but it is steady. The trend lines are unmistakable,” he said.

India, China not rivals: Sonia

Acknowledging that India and China have different prospectives on both bilateral and global issues, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today said “pragmatism and mutual interest” offer a sound basis for the future development of the relationship.

She also expressed confidence that outstanding issues between the two countries could be “sorted out” through dialogue.

In her address to the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsunghua University organized by the ruling Communist Party of China, Gandhi sought to dispel apprehension about India and China being rivals.

“The world is big enough to accommodate the growth and aspirations of both our countries. We can must work and prosper together”.

Gandhi, who is on a five-day visit to China, said both India and China seek an open and inclusive world order based on the principles of “Panchsheel” that were founded together by Zhou Enlai and Jawaharlal Nehru in 1954.

“Pragmatism and mutual self-interest offer a sound basis for the future development of our relationship,” she stressed.

Earlier this week, China had for the first time publicly said “mutual concessions and adjustments” were must to reach an early deal on the vexed boundary issue with India.