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Jinping: World needs China-India development
January 11, 2013, 11:36 am

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao. [AP]

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao [AP]

China’s leader Xi Jinping sees a bright future for India-China bilateral relations, dismissing suggestions that the two countries are in competition.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) General Secretary made the comments in a letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reports Chinese news agency Xinhua.

Critics of closer Sino-Indian ties have often spoke of the intrinsically competitive nature of the two growing economic powers. The Economist had called it the contest of the century in 2010.

China’s new leader appears to dismiss them.

In his letter, Xi Jinping said that the world has enough space for China and India to achieve common development, and the world also needs common development.

Visiting Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo carried Jinping’s letter to the Indian Prime Minister.

Bingguo was attending the Third Meeting of Senior Representatives of National Security Affairs of BRICS countries in New Delhi.

Jinping emphasised in his letter to the Indian leader that China will, as it has been doing, pay great importance to developing relations with India.

He expects closer cooperation with India to create a brighter future for the two countries.

He said that China-India relations have maintained stable development in the past few years, which has brought about substantial benefits to the two countries and the two peoples.

Bilateral trade stood at $ 66 billion in 2012. India and China in November 2012 signed as many as 11 pacts, including those worth over $ 5 billion in the private sector.

TBP with inputs from Agencies