CHINESE PREMIER WEN JIABAO KICKS OFF INDIA

UNCLAS CHENNAI 000695

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON IN
SUBJECT: CHINESE PREMIER WEN JIABAO KICKS OFF INDIA
VISIT IN BANGALORE

REF: (A) NEW DELHI 2677, (B) TELCON RAVI CANDADAI WITH
OPS CENTER OF APRIL 10

1.(U) SUMMARY: Chinese Premier Wen Jaibao began his
visit to India with a stop at Bangalore, India's high
tech capital. During his low-key visit, Wen articulated
a recurring theme of cooperation between China and
India, especially in areas of information systems and
technology, and the opportunities such cooperation would
create. END SUMMARY.

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FIRST STOP BANGALORE
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2.(U) Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao began his four-day
visit to India on the evening of April 9 with a stop in
Bangalore, south India's technology hot spot. On his
s
arrival he said in a statement that the purpose of his
visit was to enhance China-India friendship and to
promote cooperation between the two countries. On
Sunday, April 10, Wen made a series of visits to Indian
and Chinese high-tech organizations in the city.

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LOW KEY VISITS WERE THE ORDER OF THE DAY
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3.(SBU) Wen's began his Sunday visits with a stop at
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) where he spun an
elaborate metaphor comparing China and India to twin
pagodas ("Ta-Ta in Chinese signifies two pagodas," he
explained). He elaborated by noting that China has had
the advantage in hardware and India in software and that
the two countries had much to gain by working together.
He went on to say that together, China and India could
usher in an "Asian century" in information technology.
Post's contacts at TCS said that the visit was relaxed
with the Premier and TCS CEO C. Ramadorai having about a
half hour discussion that was followed by a walk around
the facility. No agreements were signed and no specific
announcements were made. Wen also visited the Indian
Institute of Science, the country's premier science and
technology research institution, Huawei Technologies
which is a Chinese software development firm and the
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Dr. Jacob
Ninan, Program Director for International Cooperation at
ISRO told Post, "This was simply a VIP visit with no
substance. There were no agreements signed." Wen's
comments at all of the locations he visited repeated the
theme of enhanced cooperation between China and India
and the opportunities that such cooperation might
create.

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TIBETAN PROTESTOR PROVIDES SOME EXCITEMENT
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4. (U) The only real excitement of the day came when a
Tibetan protestor managed to avoid security police and
climbed a tower at the Indian Institute of Science.
From his perch in the administration building tower he
waved a Tibetan flag and shouted anti-China slogans.
The protestor identified himself as Tenzin Tsundue and
said that he was general secretary of the "Friends of
Tibet." This was not the first such incident involving
Tsundue. In January 2002 he unfurled a similar Tibetan

SIPDIS
flag from a Mumbai hotel when Wen's predecessor Zhu
Rongji was visiting the city. Karnataka Chief Minister
Dharam Singh took the issue seriously and ordered a
high-level police probe of the security breach.


5. (U) COMMENT: Wen's comments upon his arrival in
Bangalore suggested that his visit there would be low
key and focused on China-India friendship. Low key it
was with no news except that made by a lone Tibetan
protestor. South Indians seemed to have viewed the
visit in the same way. Media coverage was understated
and generally focused on meetings later on in the week
in Delhi. But Wen's decision to begin his visit in
Bangalore, India's I.T. capital, makes a statement about
the importance China places on economic ties, especially
those related to technology. Such a visit might be a
small step toward an important future economic
partnership. END COMMENT

HAYNES