Indian FM meets Chinese, Russian counterparts
February 2, 2015, 4:47 am

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj in Beijing, China, Feb. 1, 2015. [Xinhua]

The two Ministers discussed “bilateral, regional and global issues of concern to both sides” said an official statement.

“As two large developing countries, China and India pursue an independent foreign policy of peace, and both countries attach priority to developing relations with their neighbouring countries,” Wang was quoted by Chinese official media.

“China is willing to make joint efforts with India to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and to be good neighbours and partners,” added Wang.

The Chinese Foreign Minister also said the two countries “should be good friends” who are working together to promote “democratization of international relations and to safeguard the overall interests of developing countries”.

Beijing is keen to keep high-level visits and strategic communication exchange with New Delhi.

Wang said bilateral ties will be boosted when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits China later this year.

The two countries are looking to step up cooperation in railway, industrial park, smart cities, tourism and education.

Wang said “China is willing to make joint efforts with India to promote the process of negotiations over border issue so as to maintain peace in border area”.

China and India share a 2,000-km-long border that has never been formally delineated. The two countries began discussing border issues in the 1980s.

Xi and Modi have met with each other three times since last year.

She hopes that her current visit to China will show positive signals of India-China friendly and cooperative relationship.

Swaraj is paying an official visit to China from Saturday to Tuesday.

With a combined population of 2.5 billion, China, the world’s second largest economy, and India are increasingly playing an important and influential role in the global economy.

New Delhi and Beijing have set a target to reach $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2015 although India’s trade deficit with China reached a record $ 31.4 billion in 2013, new trade figures released by China last year revealed.

Meanwhile, the Indian Foreign Minister also held separate talks with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov where the two sides discussed “agenda of visits for 2015”.

Lavrov, Wang and Swaraj will now meet in Beijing for the 13^th RIC (Russia, India, China) Foreign Ministers meet.

TBP and Agencies