Further co-op with India, Pakistan, Mongolia

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tuesday that China will advance its mutual cooperation with India, Pakistan and Mongolia.

Wang spoke about the cooperation while meeting separately with his counterparts from those countries on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

During his meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid, Wang said the visit to India recently made by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang laid out the strategic plan for the two countries' relations. The meeting also sent a positive signal of the cooperation and coordination between China and India to the world.

Wang said the two nations should combine China's strategy to develop its western region with India's Look East policy, which would promote the integration of Asia and link the markets of China and India, as well as East Asia and South Asia through the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridor program.

Khurshid said Li's visit was fruitful and laid a foundation for further development of the two countries' relationship. China and India should strengthen all kinds of bilateral mechanisms, actively back pragmatic cooperation, and remain coordinated on important international and regional issues, he said.

When meeting with Sartaj Aziz, the advisor to the Pakistani prime minister on foreign affairs and national security, Wang said China is happy to see that Pakistan has finished a smooth transition of power.

He said China is willing to work with the new Pakistani government to implement the consensus reached during Li's visit to Pakistan and the common views shared by the two countries' leaders.

China is willing, Wang said, to deepen its pragmatic ties with Pakistan, especially on key cooperation programs, and push the strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries to a new stage.

Wang said China pays great attention to the upcoming visit of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Beijing and hopes to closely cooperate with Pakistan to make the visit a success.

Aziz said the new Pakistani government will continue to steadfastly develop its all-weather friendly relations with China. He said he believes that Sharif's visit will surely deepen the traditional friendship between the two countries, and strengthen the two sides' cooperation in various areas.

Wang also met with Mongolian Foreign Minister L. Bold. The two sides pledged to deepen mutual cooperation and coordination in various areas.