Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao began his three-day visit to New Dehli on Dec 14, the first of Premier Wen for the past five years. During the trust-building trip, Premier Wen backed India for greater role in international affairs, said an article in The Hindu on Dec 16.

According to the article, Premier Wen addressed the Indian Council of World Affairs, saying that India "should and can play an increasingly important role" on the international stage. "China and India have shared interests and common views on the issue of UN Security Council reform. We both maintain that priority should be given to increasing the representation of developing countries," Wen added.

Also, Premier Wen and Manmohan Singh, his Indian counterpart, were engaged in border negotiations, said the article. "It would not be easy to completely resolve this question." said Premier Wen, "only with sincerity, mutual trust and perseverance can we eventually find a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution." Mr. Wen was quoted in the article that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and he had agreed to set up a working mechanism for consultation and coordination on border affairs.

In the economic sphere, Premier Wen said "China understood India's concerns on bilateral trade imbalance and was ready to take measures to facilitate access of Indian IT products, pharmaceuticals and farm produce to the Chinese market," added the article.