Manmohan Talks Firm On Border With Li

New Delhi: The festering boundary row figured prominently in talks between visiting Premier Li Keqiang and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Sunday as the Chinese leader arrived in India on his maiden overseas tour since taking over in March.

Manmohan Singh raised the boundary issue firmly in his informal talks with Li at his 7, Race Course Road residence in the evening ahead of a private dinner he hosted, said informed sources.

During their restricted talks, Manmohan Singh is also believed to have flagged India's concerns about China constructing dams on the Brahmaputra in Tibet which could severely affect water flow in downstream India.

He also raised the issue of trade deficit. The prime minister is said to have articulated the issues in a "constructive but firm manner", the sources said.

The Chinese premier, who arrived in the afternoon on a three-day visit, is visiting India days after a Sino-Indian border stand-off was resolved. Chinese troops intruded some 19 km inside the Line of Actual Control (LAC) - the de-facto border - April 15 and pitched tents.

The row ended May 5 after several rounds of negotiations - military and diplomatic - with both sides reverting to the position that existed before April 15.

The dinner for Premier Li was attended by Congress chief and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, her son and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and BJP leader Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, said sources.