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Summary
Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, currently on a six-day visit to China, met the host country's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao at Zhongnanhai in Beijing on Thursday. The Zhongnanhai is a complex of buildings in Beijing which serves as the central headquarters for the Communist Party of China and the federal People's government of the People's Republic of China. India's junior Minister for Food Processing Subodh Kant Sahay, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and India's ambassador to China, S Jaishankar took part in the discussions of President Pratibha Devisingh Patil while Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and a team of senior officials accompanied Premier Wen. The Indian president lauded China's constructive role in taking the strategic partnership with India forward. Bilateral issues of interest to the two countries were reportedly discussed in the meeting. Three bilateral co-operation pacts, including two memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were also signed by India and China. The agreements were signed after the Indian president held talks with her Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao at the Great Hall of The People in the Chinese capital Beijing. India's Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue signed an agreement streamlining the visa application formalities for airline staff of the two countries. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Indian Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, for co-operation in the field of civil services. The Indian Ambassador to China, S. Jaishankar, and Chinese Sports Minister Liu Peng signed another MoU on co-operation in the field of sports. The two leaders, who were accompanied by their respective delegations, also exchanged views on issues of global, regional and bilateral importance to the two countries. The President's visit coincides with the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Ties between India and China have warmed up recently against the backdrop of a trade boom and close co-operation on climate change since the Copenhagen world climate talks in December.
