Tributes to Indian doctor

China's premier paid his respects Tuesday to the family of an Indian doctor who died treating Chinese troops more than 70 years ago, becoming a rare symbol of friendship between the two nations, said AFP. Excerpts:

Li Keqiang, like Chinese leaders before him, took time out of his busy India visit to meet relatives of Dwarkanath Kotnis, who provided emergency medical aid for four years during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45). And he has remained a widely revered figure in China for his war work.

Manorama Kotnis, one of the doctor's seven siblings and the only one still alive, will meet the Chinese premier at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in the financial capital Mumbai, along with four of her younger relatives.

"I'm very proud and happy that he still remembers my brother," said the 92-year-old lady on Monday at her home in Mumbai's Vile Parle suburb, where old pictures of her legendary brother sit proudly on display.

Born in Maharashtra province, of which Mumbai is the capital, Kotnis was one of five medical volunteers dispatched from India in 1938, following a request for help from the fellow Asian giant. Manorama, who was a teenager when her older brother left, said the team was only supposed to go for a year. But her brother stayed on for four years, joining the Communist Party of China and marrying a Chinese nurse, with whom he had a son a few months before he died of epilepsy in 1942, aged 32.

Winning Indians' hearts

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang won the hearts of Indians with his knowledge of India, says an article in The Times of India. Excerpts:

While Chinese Premier Li Keqiang came across as loquacious and jovial in his interaction with Indian leaders - a far cry from several other Chinese leaders who have visited here in the past - he also won hearts with his knowledge of India.

Li had his Indian interlocutors in splits when he told them how he had loved watching Bollywood movie 3 Idiots. Bollywood movies have only recently started to attract eyeballs in China. The Chinese leader said that his daughter was so impressed with the movie that she made him watch it.

Li also spoke about Steve Jobs' biography and the Apple co-founder's experiences in the country in his salad days. The Chinese premier spoke about how Jobs had travelled to India in search of enlightenment. Jobs, though, had few flattering things to say about India describing his India adventure as disturbing.

While Li had travelled to India in the 1980s as the chief of a youth delegation - when he got a chance to visit the Taj Mahal - his interest in India was rekindled after he rose to become the governor of Henan province. The province is home to the oldest Buddhist temple, called the Baima or White Horse temple in China. This is where he developed some interest in Indian culture and heritage.

Handling differences

China will handle differences with India on the basis of bearing overall ties, said an article in NDTV India. Excerpts:

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang today said "India is China's important neighbor," and that Beijing would handle differences with New Delhi keeping the overall bilateral relationship in mind.

The two leaders also held substantive discussions which Li said was "productive". Government sources told NDTV that Singh, in a "firm, upfront and constructive" manner, raised India's boundary concerns with the Chinese premier and said that without maintaining peace at the border, the relationship between the two countries will suffer.

"Everything is on the table," Joint Secretary (East Asia) Gautam Bambawale said when asked about the issues to be discussed between the leaders of the two countries, who are witnessing differences on various crucial matters including boundary, water management, and market access under economic ties.

Regional stability enhanced

China and India pledged to work together for regional stability and the economic growth of the world's two most populous nations, said an article by the Associated Press. Excerpts:

"Both the prime minister and I believe that there are far more shared interests between China and India than the differences we have," Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said at a joint press conference.

"I shared with Premier Li my view that the rise of China and India is good for the world and that the world has enough space to accommodate the growth aspirations of both our peoples. To make this a reality, it is important to build understanding between our two peoples," Singh said.

The leaders said they both agreed that preserving peace along the borders was crucial to maintaining growth and asked mediators from both countries to work toward a framework for reaching a settlement.

New approaches

India and China will study new ways to ease tensions on border issues, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday on his first official foreign trip, says an article by Reuters. Excerpts:

The number two in the Chinese leadership offered New Delhi a "handshake across the Himalayas" and said the world's most populous nations could become a new engine for the global economy if they could avoid friction on the militarized border.

"Both sides believe that we need to improve the various border-related mechanisms that we have put into place and make them more efficient. We need to appropriately manage and resolve our differences," Li said at a joint news conference with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Among the measures being looked at to reduce the risk of confrontation is allowing higher-level meetings between regional military commanders, an Indian official said.

After India, Li is due to visit Pakistan, Switzerland and Germany and is likely to carry a message that China wants more open foreign relations and should not be seen as a threat.

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