PEKING, Dec 23, Reuter: Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi wound up a visit to China by putting aside a decades-old feud in what he called a turning point in Sino-Indian relations,

Gandhi, making the first visit to China by an Indian leader in 34 years, said he was laying the foundation for stable relations between the two Asian Countries that clashed along their disputed border in 1962.

In a joint communiqué released shortly after Gandhi boarded his jet home for Shanghai, his first stop, the two Asian Giants “agreed their common desire was to restore, improve and develop India China good-neighborly and friendly relations.”

They offered no immediate solution to the dispute but they set up a working level group to meet on border issues and signed accords on science, culture and aviation.

“This is a turning point, Gandhi told a news conference on Wednesday. We have laid the foundation for peaceful and stable relations.”

The two countries still claim large tracts of each other’s territory and eight rounds of talks have been unable to settle the dispute.

The Indian leader said a key achievement of his five day visit was the personal bond he had established with top Chinese officials among them Senior Leader Deng Xiaoping, Communist party Chief Zhao Ziyuang and Premier Li Peng.

Deng, 84, good naturedly referred to the Indian leader, who is little more than half his age, as his “young friend.”

Asian and Western diplomats said the visit would let the two sides prevent the dispute from impending an improvement in ties and focus on economic development.

Both China and India want to be able to shift scarce resources away from defense and into economic development,” said an Asian diplomat. “This helps them do it”

Asian diplomats said Gandhi would be able to portray himself as a man of destiny, a statesman who was able to bridge a diplomatic gap where others had failed.

But other diplomats cautioned that a foreign policy gain might not create much domestic political capital and he would still face pressure to solve the border issue eventually.

Gandhi tried to deflect such pressure by telling reporters they cannot expect instant results for a problem that has dragged on so long.

He also sought to avoid being portrayed as giving away Indian Territory. “The question of conceding territory did not come up,” he said.

Part of the reason for the new relationship must be the warning” ties between China and the Soviet Union, India’s closest friend, diplomats said.

Early this month, China’s foreign Minister Qian Qichen visited Moscow to prepare a Sino-soviet summit meeting and repair relations strained since the early 1960’s.

Gandhi also apparently pleased his hosts with his statements on Tibet, repeating India’s position that the region is part of China.

But China was concerned about “Anti-Peking activities,” of some Tibetans living in Exile in India, according to the Communique.

India is home to the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, and 10,000 of his followers, many of them refugees from a Chinese crackdown after a 1959 revolt.

Before Gandhi left for home on Friday, he met Zhu Rongji, Mayor of Shanghai, once China’s commercial center, and toured nearby rural industry projects.

Article extracted from this publication >> December 30, 1988