India, China FM talks: “a productive beginning”
June 9, 2014, 8:35 am

China and India are both pursuing the great dream of national renewal, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi [Ministry of External Affairs, India]

During his meeting with Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, Wang said that China and India are two important forces which are on the ascendancy in the process of multi- polarization of the world.

“China is willing to build closer, more comprehensive relationship of development and partnership, in order to hold hand with India to realize peaceful development, cooperative development and sustainable development,” said the Chinese foreign minister.

“This will not only bring to substantiality of our relationship of strategic cooperative partnership oriented towards peace and prosperity, but also help contribute to the national resurrection of our respective countries and the cause of regional as well as global peace and development,” he added.

For her part, Swaraj said China is a big power with great influence in the world, as well as the second largest economy in the world. The new Indian government attaches great importance to relations with China, and will carry out a positive policy toward China and, she said.

“Even while there was a determination to add new content and substance to the relationship, there was an understanding that respect for the sensitivities and aspirations of each other was an essential for expansion of bilateral relations,” said Swaraj.

India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said the meeting was a “very productive beginning”.

The two sides discussed the development of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor, and the construction of a Silk Road Economic belt, two projects in the works initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping and agreed to by former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Meanwhile, in his address to the joint sitting of Parliament on Monday,Indian President Pranab Mukherjee said New Delhi will continue to develop relations of strategic partnership with Beijing.

China’s state media described Wang’s visit as “productive” and “substantive”.

“The mutual complementarity of the two economies provides great potential for China and India, one being a global manufacturer and the other a major service provider, to jointly boost cooperation in bilateral trade, investment, financial services and new and high technologies,” said an editorial in state-run Xinhua.

The new Indian government led by right-wing leader Narendra Modi has won a decisive mandate in the elections this summer and has promised to jolt the Indian economy back out of a period of stasis.

“Being ancient Eastern civilizations at similar development stages, China and India are both pursuing the great dream of national renewal, dreams that are interconnected and mutually compatible,” the Chinese Foreign Minister told a national daily, The Hindu.

TBP