Addressing a meeting convened by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) here today, he indicated that India could be a target of China's future military adventures, especially as the country had not hesitated to adopt an aggressive stance towards its neighbours in the past.

The US was viewing with seriousness China's transfer of nuclear technology to Pakistan, Solarz, who is known as a friend of India in international diplomatic circles, said. He emphasised that America would have to make strong efforts to deter China from extending such military help. In this context, he underlined the urgency for greater bilateral cooperation between Delhi and Washington to counter this threat.

He hoped that the forthcoming visit of American President Bill Clinton to Delhi later this year would give a fillip tobilateral ties. He said he would urge Clinton to include Chandigarh in its itinerary.

Remarking that the US had significant strategic interests in the stability of India, Solarz called upon the American Government to tell Pakistan in unequivocal terms not to support and promote subversive forces across its borders.

Pointing out that there has been a fundamental change in the US policy on Kashmir, he however added that it still viewed Kashmir as a disputed region while the need was to recognise it as an integral part of India in the interest of both India and America.

Speaking on economic cooperation, Solarz, who was on a private business mission to the city, stated that the best way to fight poverty in India was through faster economic growth and not through political doles. He deplored the fact that 350 million Indians lived in absolute poverty, and urged the Government to make ``concerted efforts to attract foreign investment'' so as to boost economic growth and do away with poverty.

He emphasisedthat India needed to remove restrictions on foreign investment in certain areas and open up sectors such as insurance where American giants would be keen to invest. Admitting that the investment climate in India was far more encouraging than before, he, however, listed problem areas like inadequacy of infrastructure in transport and communication sectors and bureaucratic red-tapism. However, the emergence of the Indian community as the single most affluent group in the US proved what Indians could do in the appropriate environment, Solarz added.

About the Vajpayee Government at the Centre, he felt that it would last for quite some time and that its policies would help promote Indo-American relations. He also said that there had not been any fundamental change in India's nuclear policy so far.

Earlier, Solarz called on Haryana Chief Minister Bansi Lal and also met the chief secretary and other senior officers. He was accompanied by Mike Conforti, Vice-President of International Sales, GTECH, Providence,USA.