In preparation for Wen Jiabao’s highly anticipated visit to India beginning April 9, the Chinese and Indian media have been closely covering relations between the two countries. Border disputes and a potential free trade area are on the agenda for Wen’s visit. Asia Times also published a story, “India sets the stage for China visit”:
Chinese officials have laid virtual siege at the Foreign Ministry in Delhi, spanning out in teams to discuss various aspects of the slew of treaties and agreements that Wen and Manmohan are due to sign. The omnipresent, if not overbearing, presence of the US is very much evident. As one official remarked, “The Chinese have been observing the US’s intentions of closely engaging India by transferring nuclear technology for energy, arms supplies, talks on missile defense as well as stepping up economic relations. The response of China will be equally powerful. Instead of taking on the US single-handedly, China will seek to work out a grand alliance of nations including India and Russia that will be able to take on the economic and military might of US. People right now talk of a unipolar world, by the quarter of this century the world will be bipolar, with China as the power to be reckoned with, and by the half of the century tripolar with India in the picture.”
