China, India urged to strengthen exchanges

As Beijing and New Delhi are witnessing their senior officials in charge of foreign affairs and defense having face-to-face meetings this week in China, analysts said the two major Asian countries should grab the opportunity to build on the hardwon rebound of their relations.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Ajit Doval, India's national security adviser and India's special representative on the China-India boundary question, in Beijing on Monday.

Starting on Wednesday, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will be in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization defense ministers' meeting in Qingdao, Indian media reported.

As China holds the SCO rotating presidency this year, China-India collaboration on the planned SCO summit has been high on the bilateral agenda.

Speaking to India's national security adviser on Monday, Wang said the two sides "should focus more on cooperation", strengthen exchanges between the two countries at different levels and in various fields, and "support each other in multilateral settings such as the SCO".

Doval said India is willing to strengthen coordination with China in multilateral spheres and fully support China, the rotating chair of the SCO, in successfully hosting the summit, and it believes the two major Asian countries can make greater contributions to the international community.

Both Wang and Doval co-chaired the 23rd meeting of the two countries' special representatives on the boundary question in December in Beijing, during which the two nations reached a six-point major consensus on the boundary question.

On Monday, both officials highlighted the need to further maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

Wang said China and India should adhere to the important consensus that there are "opportunities for each other's development" and they should "pose no threat to each other".

They should strive for a mutually beneficial and win-win prospect, honor the historical wisdom of the two ancient civilizations and properly handle sensitive issues, he added.

Doval said the two countries should take the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations as an opportunity to promote practical cooperation in various fields and properly handle border issues.

Last year, the bilateral annual trade volume reached $138.48 billion, an increase of 1.7 percent year-on-year.

In the first five months of this year, bilateral trade registered $61.58 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.3 percent, according to China's General Administration of Customs.

Wang Shida, executive director of the Institute of South Asian Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said given the 75th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties this year, the two countries' future success in moving along together "will further promote the stable and positive development of China-India relations".

The leaders of the two countries have similar views on the positioning, direction and prospects of China-India relations, and "the calls for closer economic and trade cooperation with China are growing stronger among various sectors in India, especially the industrial sector", Wang said in a recent article.

As part of recent official interactions, Vice-Foreign Minister Sun Weidong held a new round of China-India Vice Foreign Minister-Foreign Secretary Dialogue with Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in New Delhi on June 12.

This month, India's Foreign Ministry said New Delhi has agreed with Beijing to expedite the process to resume direct flights between the two countries.

"At present, China-India relations are at a critical stage, and the important consensus reached by leaders of our two countries has charted the course for the development of bilateral relations," Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said at a cultural event in India's Kolkata on June 8.

On Monday, Wang Yi and Doval hailed the significance of the consensus on improving bilateral relations reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting in Kazan, Russia, last year.

Wang defined the recent bilateral relations as having seen "some positive developments".

Both sides need to further strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, and work hard to resolve pressing issues, he said.

Doval said the strategic goals of India and China are aligned, with development being both nations' top priority.

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn