♤ November 1996: Chinese President Jiang Zemin visits India, signs Agreement on Confidence Building Measures (CBM) in the military field along the LAC in the India-China Border Areas.

♤ August 1997: The India-China Joint Working Group meets in New Delhi. Instruments of ratification in respect to Confidence Building Measures agreement exchanged.

♤ May 1998: Defence minister George Fernandes reported claim that China was India’s threat

number one offends China.

♤ 14 May 1998: China strongly condemns India’s second peaceful nuclear tests.

♤ July 1998: China urges India and Pakistan to give up their nuclear ambitions and sign the NPT.

♤ August 1998: India officially announces talks with China on the reopening of the Ladakh- Kailash-Mansarovar route.

♤ June 1999: China displays neutrality on the Kargil conflict and agrees to establish a security mechanism with India.

♤ 28 September 1999: China asks New Delhi to stop the ‘splitting activities’ of Dalai Lama

from Indian soil to improve bilateral relations.

♤ 24 November 1999: India and China hold detailed discussions in New Delhi on ways to settle their border row.

♤ 7 January 2000: Karmapa Lama flees China, reaches Dharamshala and joins the Dalai Lama.

♤ 11 January 2000: Beijing warns that giving political asylum to the Karmapa would violate the five principles of peaceful coexistence.

♤ 4 January 2000: India officially declares to China that the 17th Karmapa has arrived in Dharamshala, but has not been granted refugee status.

♤ 22 January 2000: The Dalai Lama writes to the Prime Minister urging him to accord protection to the 17th Karmapa.

♤ 31 January 2000: The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army build a permanent road network and sets up bunkers 5km in the Indian side of the LAC in Ladakh’s Aksai Chin area.

♤ 22 February 2000: India and China sign a bilateral trade agreement in Beijing to facilitate China’s early entry into the WTO and an MOU for setting up a Joint Working Group in the field of steel.

♤ 1 April 2000: India and China commemorate 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

♤ 13 January 2002: Chinese premier Zhu Rongji visits India.

♤ 29 March 2002: India and China agree in Beijing to quicken the pace of LAC delineation in order to resolve the vexatious border dispute within a reasonable time-frame.