Photo Features

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Prime Ministerial Visits to China

Prime Minister is on an official visit to China from October 22-24, 2013. This is his second official bilateral visit to China, the first being in 2008. Before him four Indian Prime Ministers – Nehru (1954), Rajiv Gandhi (1988), Narasimha Rao (1993) and Vajpayee (2003) - paid official bilateral visits to China. This photo feature traces India-China relations while recollecting those historic visits.

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    . India and China established diplomatic relations in 1950 with India being the first non-communist country to establish an Embassy in China. India’s first Prime Minister paid an official visit to China in 1954, the year in which the two countries jointly expounded the historic Panchsheel Doctrine(Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence). In pic: Residents of Peking from all walks of life gather in Chung Shan Park on October 23, 1954 to welcome Prime Minister Nehru on his official visit to China.
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    . Prime Minister with the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Mao Zedong at Beijing during his official visit (October 23, 1954)
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    . The India-China conflict in 1962 led to a serious setback in bilateral relations. Though both countries restored ambassadorial relations in 1976 it was the visit of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to China in December 1988 that revived bilateral ties and set a new paradigm for India-China relations. In Pic: Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi at a reception hosted in their honour by the Chinese Premier in Beijing
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    . Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Mrs Sonia Gandhi at the Great Wall of China during their historic visit to China in December 1988.
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    . During Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s landmark visit to Beijing, India and China signed two crucial agreements to establish a Joint Working Group (JWG) - to seek fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution on the boundary question - and a Joint Economic Group (JEG) and agreed to expand and develop bilateral relations in all fields. In Pic: Indian delegation led by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi witnessing the signing ceremony in Beijing
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    . Prime Minister Narasimha Rao visited China in September 1993. It was during this visit that the landmark agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India - China Border Area was signed, providing for both sides to respect the status quo on the border, clarify the LAC where there are doubts and undertake CBMs . In pic: Prime Minister Rao visiting an exhibition in Beijing during his official visit to China
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    . Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee paid an official visit to China from June 22-27, 2003 during which he visited Beijing, Shanghai, and Luoyang, an ancient city in central China's Henan Province. He met with entire top leadership of China including President Hu Jintao (in Pic) and Premier Wen Jiabao during the visit which elevated the bilateral relationship to a new level of mutual understanding and expanded ties to full scale cooperation.
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    . Prime Minister Vajpayee’s visit became a milestone in India-China relations with the first ever comprehensive document on development of bilateral relations - The Declaration on Principles for Relations and Comprehensive Cooperation - being signed during the visit. It was also during this landmark visit that the two Prime Ministers appointed Special Representatives to explore, from the political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship, the framework of a boundary settlement.
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    . Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh paid his first official bilateral visit to China from 13-15 January 2008. During the visit, he had extensive discussions with Premier Wen Jiabao (in Pic) and met with President Hu Jintao. A joint document entitled "A Shared Vision for the 21st Century of the Republic of India and the People's Republic of China" was issued during the visit, outlining common positions on a number of international and some bilateral issues.