Political consensus exists in India on maintaining close ties with China, President Pranab Mukherjee told Wang Yi, Foreign Minister and Special Envoy of the President of China, on Monday during an interaction.
The President assured the Chinese Minister that the current government would strive to place bilateral relationship on a trajectory of stable growth, development and expansion.
At their meeting in Rashtrapati Bhavan, Mr. Mukherjee told Mr. Wang that he was looking forward to receiving President Xi Jinping in India later this year.
He recalled how India and China cooperated with each other on international fora, including G20, IMF and the World Bank, in the context of the financial crisis and how both jointly contributed to the revival of the world economy.
“Rising powers”Mr. Wang described Mr. Mukherjee as an old friend of China who had made important contribution to the growth of relations between the two countries. He said that in the constantly changing international environment, China and India were new rising powers and important opportunities exist for developing relations. Mr. Wang said that as neighbours, it was essential to consolidate, continue and seek new progress in relations.