Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s2.t4.3

v2.c14.s2.t4.3

From December 19-23, 1988, the Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi paid a state visit to China and held talks with Li Peng and Deng Xiaoping, respectively. Both prime ministers also reached internal understanding of the guiding principles of solving India-China border disputes, which contributed a lot to the settlement of India-China border disputes and represented a new starting point for the improvement and development of India-China relations. Gandhi expressed the resolve of India to seek mutually beneficial settlement of the disputes and put forward the concept of “parallel working” that is to actively develop bilateral relations in other areas while seeking a way for the settlement acceptable for both countries. For that matter, both sides agreed to establish a joint working group for the settlement of border issues and other joint working groups for issues related to economy, trade, science and technology and signed the *Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation*, *Air Service Agreements* and the *Plan on Implementing the Three Annual Cultural Cooperation Agreements*.