May 20, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 17, 1424

NEW DELHI, May 19: As Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee gets set to visit China next month, Beijing appears ready to give ground on the thorny issue of the sovereignty of the state of Sikkim, a report said on Monday.

China has been signalling since the late 1990s that it was ready to acknowledge Indian sovereignty over Sikkim, the Hindu newspaper said.

If India and China could reach an understanding on the issue, it would give “significant political substance” to Vajpayee’s visit to Beijing next month.—AFP