Manmohan meets Wen in Hanoi

HANOI - Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh of India and Wen Jiabao of China met here Friday on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit, setting the stage for the Chinese leader’s visit to New Delhi later this year.

The two leaders are believed to have discussed bilateral and regional issues.

The much-awaited meeting comes amid persisting differences between the world’s two most populous countries on a variety of issues.

The latest subject of discord arose after China insisted it would continue to give stapled visas to Indians from Jammu and Kashmir, Beijing’s way of saying it disputes New Delhi’s right over the troubled state held in part by Pakistan.