China, India true partners- Wang Yi
November 11, 2013, 9:56 am

Wang proposed that 2014 be marked as the “Year of Friendly Exchanges” between the two nations [Xinhua]

The minister met his Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid on the sidelines of the 12th RIC (Russia-India-China) trilateral meeting in New Delhi.

“The intensive interactions at the top level of the two governments have pushed forward Sino-Indian relations into a new stage of development” said Wang.

Wang also said the two Asian giants should cooperate in transport and power plant projects.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had told his counterpart Li Keqiang in Beijing that India would “participate with great enthusiasm” in talks for the China-proposed BCIM Economic Corridor, host to 40 per cent of the world’s population.

“We believe that the BCIM Economic Corridor can potentially reinforce our existing connectivity initiatives and we have expressed our support in principle to the idea during Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to India,” Singh said in October.

India has already set up an Indian unit for the joint study group that will look into the feasibility of the corridor, its alignment, funding, responsibility of member countries, economic potential as well as soft infrastructure requirement.

Chinese and Indian foreign ministers on Sunday lauded strides made in bilateral ties this year, dubbed the “Year of Harvest”.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent state visit to China had seen the two sides inking nine agreements that included a crucial Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) that aims to break a historical decades-old stalemate on overlapping claims to long stretches of the Himalayas.

Wang on Sunday told Khurshid the BDCA is key for the maintenance of peace and stability in the border areas.

The Chinese foreign minister said the two sides must create consensus-building measures among the people for strategic trust “that China and India are true partners, not rivals”.

Wang proposed that 2014 be marked as the “Year of Friendly Exchanges” between the two nations.

Wang also said the two sides would “strengthen coordination and consultation over international issues to safeguard common interests”.

Source: Agencies