Li concludes Indian visit with strategic consensus

MUMBAI - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang wrapped up his visit to India and left Mumbai Wednesday morning for Islamabad, capital of Pakistan.

During his Indian visit, which started on Sunday, Li and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh vowed to consolidate China-India strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity, and to push for fresh and substantial progress in bilateral cooperation.

Premier Li Keqiang laughs during a video conference with Chinese employees of India's tea-to-software conglomerate Tata Group at the Tata Consultancy Services software facility in Mumbai on Tuesday. INDRANIL MUKHERJEE / AFP

Li said the most important outcome of his talks with Indian leaders is that they reached strategic consensus and deepened strategic trust.

"The two sides welcome each other's peaceful development and regard it as a mutually reinforcing process. There is enough space in the world for the development of China and India, and the world needs the common development of both countries," the two countries said in a joint statement on Monday.

They agreed to hold a regular exchange of high-level visits, promote trade, cooperate in industrial parks and the financial sector, enhance interaction in the military field, and strengthen cultural exchange.

Amicable relations between China and India will be a positive thing for Asia, and common development of China and India will provide new engines for the world economy, Li told reporters after meeting with Singh.

Addressing the Indian Council of World Affairs on Tuesday, Li urged both countries to look forward and seize the new opportunities in their strategic cooperation.

"China-India relations are one of the world's most important bilateral relations in the 21st century," Li said. "Their cooperation has vast room of further development."

The two neighboring countries also made progress on their border disputes, which are left over by history.

"Both sides believe that we need to improve the various border-related mechanisms that we have put into place and make them more efficient, and we need to appropriately manage and resolve our differences," Li said.

Echoing Li, Singh said Monday in a media statement that "I shared with Premier Li my view that the rise of China and India is good for the world and that the world has enough space to accommodate the growth aspirations of both our peoples."

India is the first leg of Li's maiden tour abroad since assuming Chinese premiership in March. The trip will also take him to Pakistan, Switzerland and Germany.

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Premier Li visits India, Pakistan, Switzerland and Germany