Vajpayee's China trip may redraw roadmap for bilateral ties

The six-day official visit, the first by an Indian Prime Minister since 1993, is expected to inject momentum to the bilateral ties that has witnessed improvement in recent years.

India and China have intensified exchanges and cooperation in various fields, including counter-terrorism and in the military-to-military relations, analysts said.

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"As a farsighted pioneer in restoring normal Sino-Indian relations in 1979 and a senior statesman of the world today, Vajpayee's visit to China will certainly be a new milestone in further developing the relations in an overall way," former Chinese Ambassador to India, Cheng Ruisheng said.

The strengthening of Sino-Indian relations through this visit will serve as a major stabilising factor for peace and security in the region, he said.

Noting that Vajpayee's visit will take place after new Chinese leaders assumed power in Beijing in March, former Chinese Ambassador to India, Zhou Gang said the trip would lay "solid foundation" for a 21st century-oriented good-neighbourly relationship between the two big Asian neighbours.

"The visit will impart a positive effect not only to Sino-Indian relations but also to the regional situation," Zhou, also secretary-general of the India-China Eminent Persons' Group said.

Zhou pointed out that China and India are both large, developing countries and friendly cooperation between the two nations would be conducive to regional and global peace and stability.