China, India set for trade talks next week

Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee will arrive in Beijing next week to discuss trade issues and the unresolved border dispute that took the two countries to war 46 years ago, AFP reported. Mukherjee will meet with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and other Chinese leaders during the four-day trip, which will begin on June 4. The scheduled meetings are the first high-level political contact between the two countries since Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh traveled to China in January. During Singh’s trip, a pact was signed to increase bilateral trade – US$38.7 billion last year – to US$60 billion by 2010.