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Milestones in India-China relations

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-01 07:52

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December 1949: Government of India extends recognition to the People's Republic of China.

April 1950: India becomes the first non-socialist country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. KM Panikker is appointed India's first ambassador to China.

April 1954: Agreement on trade between the Tibet autonomous region and India signed in Beijing.

June 1954: Premier Zhou Enlai visits India and the "Panchsheel" - or Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence - is first proposed in an India-China joint declaration.

October 1954: Trade agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India signed in New Delhi.

October 1954: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visits China.

April 1955: Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai meet during the Afro-Asian Conference in Bandung, Indonesia.

January 1957: Premier Zhou Enlai visits India and receives an honorary doctorate from Calcutta University.

September 1957: Indian Vice-President Dr S Radhakrishnan visits China.

April 1960: Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai visits India.

August 1976: India and China restore relations to ambassadorial level after a fifteen-year gap.

February 1979: Indian External Affairs Minister AB Vajpayee visits China.

June 1981: Chinese Foreign Minister Huang Hua visits India.

December 1988: Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi pays an official visit to China, the first high-level bilateral visit in 34 years. A joint working group on the boundary question and a joint economic group are established.

December 1991: Chinese Premier Li Peng pays an official visit to India.

May 1992: Indian President R Venkatraman visits China, the first head of state visit from India to China.

September 1993: Indian PM Narasimha Rao visits China. An agreement on the maintenance of peace and tranquility along the line of actual control in the India-China border area is signed.

July 1994: Double taxation avoidance agreement signed.

November-December 1996: President Jiang Zemin visits India, the first head of state visit from China to India. An agreement on confidence building measures in the military field along the line of actual control in the India-China border area is signed.

May-June 2000: Indian President K R Narayanan visits China.

January 2002: Premier Zhu Rongji visits India.

June 2003: Indian PM AB Vajpayee visits China. Declaration on principles for relations and comprehensive cooperation is signed and a special representative mechanism established to explore the framework of a boundary settlement from the political perspective.

April 2005: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pays an official visit to India. An agreement on political parameters and guiding principles for the settlement of the China-India boundary question is signed. A strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity is also established.

May-June 2006: Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee visits China. Memorandum of understanding on defense exchanges and cooperation signed.

November 2006: Chinese President Hu Jintao visits India. A 10-pronged strategy for comprehensive development of the strategic and cooperative partnership is agreed upon.

December 2007: First joint military exercise on counter terrorism held in Kunming, Yunnan province, China.

January 2008: Indian PM Dr Manmohan Singh pays an official visit to China. "A Shared Vision for the 21st Century" is agreed upon by the two governments.

August 2008: Mrs Sonia Gandhi, UPA chairperson, attends the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

October 2008: Indian PM Dr Manmohan Singh visits China to participate in the 7th ASEM Summit.

2008: Bilateral trade breaks $50 billion mark and China becomes India's largest trading partner in goods.

April 2009: Indian ships participate in an international fleet review at Qingdao to commemorate the 60th anniversary of founding of the PLA Navy.

December 2009: Dr Dwaraknath Kotnis honored as one of the "10 best international friends of China" by CPAFFC.

2010: 60th anniversary of bilateral relations commemorated through "Festival of India in China" and "Festival of China in India".

Courtesy of the Indian

Embassy in China

(China Daily 04/01/2010 page19)