Question : INDO SINO BORDER TALKS .

(a) Whether the eighth round of border talks between India and China was held recently;

(b) If so, the details thereof;

(c) The size of bilateral trade between the two countries; and

(d) The existing cultural relations between them?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI E. AHAMED)

(a) Yes.

(b) The Eighth Round of talks between the Special Representatives of India and China, Shri M.K. Narayanan, National Security Adviser and Mr. Dai Bingguo, Executive Vice Foreign Minister respectively, on the India-China Boundary Question was held in Xi’an and Beijing in China from June 25 to June 27, 2006. The Special Representatives continued their discussions on an agreed framework for a boundary settlement on the basis of the “Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for Settlement of India-China Boundary Question”, which was signed on April 11, 2005. Talks were held in a friendly, cooperative and constructive atmosphere.

(c) The trade turnover between India and China during the financial year 2005-06 amounted to US$17.46 billion.

(d) Presently, cultural exchanges between India and China are held under the aegis of a Cultural Agreement signed between the two sides in May 1988 and a Cultural Exchange Programme signed every three years to implement various provisions of the aforementioned Agreement. In addition, both sides have recently taken a number of steps to reinforce traditional cultural links between India and China. For instance, as part of commemorative activities to mark the India-China Friendship Year in 2006, a series of cultural activities are being held in both countries. Construction of an Indian-style Buddhist temple at Luoyang in Henan Province of China is underway under an agreement concluded between the two sides in April 2005. A Centre for India Studies was inaugurated in China’s Peking University in June 2003. Both sides have also agreed to establish Cultural Centres in each other’s capitals.