Congress President Sonia Gandhi arrived here on Thursday to meet and exchange views with the newly-elected Chinese Communist Party leadership on a range of bilateral issues.

The Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is accompanied by her son and AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on the five-day visit which is expected to boost bilateral relations that are already on the upswing.
Ms Gandhi is due to meet Chinese President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Hu Jintao on Friday.

She will also have meetings with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Politburo member Liu Qi as well as call on former Chinese foreign minister Huang Hua, who had played a major role in fostering bilateral ties in the early stages of Sino-Indian relations.

Rare honour
In a rare honour, Ms Gandhi is expected to be the first leader of a foreign political party to meet Mr Hu and Mr Wen, both re-elected to the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee on Monday at the first plenum of 17th National Congress of the Party. Amid tight security, Ms Gandhi was received at the Beijing International Airport by Indian Ambassador to China, Nirupama Rao and other senior officials.
Sonia is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising senior Congress leader Karan Singh and ministers of state Anand Sharma and Prithviraj Chavan.

Besides Beijing, Ms Gandhi will also visit Xian, one of China’s ancient capitals in northwest China and Shanghai, the communist giant’s gleaming commercial hub in the east.

Though the visit comes at a crucial time when the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal has become a bone of contention between the UPA and Left parties, the issue may not figure in her talks with the top Chinese leaders, analysts said.

They also expected that it is highly unlikely that the Chinese side will raise this matter  but will focus on party-to-party interactions.

AICC SESSION ON NOV 17

New Delhi, dhns: A one-day session of the AICC will be held on November 17, the Congress party announced here on Thursday.

The session, to be held in the capital, is the first to be held after the Plenary Session held in Hyderabad in January, 2006, It is also likely to be a showcase for  AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi.

It is expected to deliberate on the political situation of the country, including the emerging equation between UPA’s outside allies the Left parties and the fledgling UNPA.