Visit of President to China

Visit of President to China

Question: Recently, President of India, Pranab Mukherjee was on a State visit to the People’s Republic of China from May 24 to 27, 2016.Before this which of the following president of India had a state visit to China?
(a) Pratibha Patil
(b) K.R Narayanan
(c) Shankar Dayal Sharma
(d) Neelam Sanjeev Reddy
Ans:(a)
Related facts:

  • From May 24 to 27, 2016; President of India, Pranab Mukherjee was on a State visit to the People’s Republic of China.
  • Before this the former president Pratibha Patil in 2010 had a state visit to China.
  • On 1 April, 1950, India became the first non-socialist bloc country to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
  • Earlier President of China Xi Jinping visited to India in September 2014 during which we established a Closer Developmental Partnership as an important component of our bilateral relationship.
  • Pranab Mukherjee began his visit by arriving in the highly industrialised Chinese city of Guangzhou; the city which has strong business links with India has an economy of over $1 trillion.
  • Guangdong province accounts for 20 per cent of bilateral trade and 40 per cent of Indian nationals in China.
  • He will be the first Indian leader to visit Guangzhou.
  • Besides interacting with the Indian community, which has over 3,000 businessmen, He also addressed India-China Business Forum to highlight the investment opportunities in India.
  • He visited the Hualin Temple, which marks the arrival of Indian monk Bodhidharma to China in 6 century AD and stands testimony to the close cultural and historical linkages that bind our two countries together.
  • He delivered a keynote address at the historic and prestigious Peking University and attended a Round Table between Vice Chancellors and Heads of institutions of higher learning of the two countries.
  • There he gifted to the Peking University 350 books on Indian culture and literature including books in Sanskrit.
  • Moreover, ten MoUs providing for enhanced faculty and student exchanges as well as collaboration in research and innovation were concluded between the higher education institutions of the two countries and exchanged in the presence of him.

Reference:
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx
https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/China_Brief.pdf
http://mea.gov.in/outoging-visit-detail.htm?26847/Speech+by+President+at+Business+Event+in+Guangzhou#
http://mea.gov.in/outoging-visit-detail.htm?26831/Transcript+of+Media+Briefing+on+Presidents+forthcoming+visit+to+China+May+19+2016#
http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/president-pranab-mukherjee-leaves-for-4-day-china-visit-tomorrow-1409127
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/president-pranab-mukherjee-begins-china-visit-with-call-to-reduce-differences/1/676510.html