Hu Jintao congratulates President-elect Obama; K2K International Conference held in Dali; China urges Dalai Lama not to support Tibetan independence; China and Italy sign scientific cooperation agreement
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    • Chinese President Hu Jintao congratulated the US President-elect Barack Obama on his victory. In a telephone conversation with Mr. Obama, the two leaders discussed various bilateral and international issues, including the ongoing financial crisis. Hu expressed satisfaction over the substantial progress made in the Sino-US relationship in the last thirty years1. Reports noted that Obama on his part as having stated that the US attached great importance to its relationship with China.

    A team of about 300 government officials and business people from West Bengal visited Dali, a picturesque city in China’s Yunnan Province in Southwest China during the week. A plan to boost bilateral trade, tourism, education, culture and transportation, was agreed upon. The first K2K International conference (named so after Kunming, the Capital of Yunnan and Kolkata, capital of West Bengal) was held in Kolkata in 20032.

    The Taiwan affairs chief of the Chinese mainland Wang Yi described the current initiative of cooperation between the mainland and Taiwan as a step forward for “exploration, cooperation and peace.” Chen Yulin, the President of the Mainland’s Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) had led a team to Taiwan for exchanging views and to discuss plans for future cooperation between the mainland and Taiwan3. Before leaving Taipei, Chen described the ARATS tour as a “long-awaited and honoured mission4.”

    Meanwhile, Du Qinglin, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, urged the Dalai Lama not to support the Tibet ‘independence’ while meeting the Dalai Lama’s private representatives, Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltse. Du Qinglin called on the Dalai Lama to respect the history and face the current reality. The Chinese government also urged the Dalai Lama’s representatives not to support the activities of the Tibetan Youth Congress, which it termed as “a terrorist organization5.”

    In other developments, China and Italy have signed a declaration to boost scientific and technological cooperation between them. The declaration, signed between the Chinese Vice-Minister for Science and Technology, Cao Jianlin and the visiting Italian Undersecretary Stefania Craxi, calls for the setting up of a 10-member joint workshop to trace out the various ways for cooperation in major areas like food science, environment, space, and nuclear physics6.

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