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Chinese Minister optimistic on ties

Photo: Sushanta Patronobish

MAIDEN VISIT: West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi with Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi at the opening of the Chinese consulate in Kolkata on Sunday. Mr. Yang is on his maiden visit to India. —

KOLKATA: Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi said on Sunday that the opening of Chinese Consulate General’s office here was a good omen for friendship and cooperation between the two countries. “This shows China’s sincerity towards building bilateral friendship.”

Mr. Yang refused to take any questions on his country’s stand at the Vienna meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.The Chinese Minister, who is visiting India for the first time, said he felt at home in Kolkata. Mr. Mukherjee, during his visit to the former West Bengal Chief Minister, Jyoti Basu, at a city nursing home, said that Mr. Yang was a guest and he welcomed him.

Mr. Yang, who has been described as the leader of the new generation of Chinese, said China and India were good neighbours and in recent years, the two countries had established strategic ties for deepening cooperation. The Minister, who earlier held talks with West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, said that they discussed ways of developing the ties between China and West Bengal. “We will redouble our efforts to boost ties.”

Mr. Gandhi said he was keen on the West Bengal government developing economic ties with China. Consul General of China in Kolkata Mao Siwei hoped that relations would be even better under Mr. Yang’s leadership.

PTI reports from Kolkata:

Reacting to China’s stand at the NSG meeting in Vienna which gave New Delhi the waiver to have nuclear commerce, Mr. Mukherjee said: “Every sovereign country has the right to express its sovereign will.”

Asked to comment on China’s role at Vienna, he told journalists: “I don’t want to comment on what role was played by which country in the NSG. This is their internal matter.”

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