Chinese PM greets Modi on swearing in

"China-India relations had gone beyond the bilateral scope and were of global and strategic significance," he said in his message to Modi

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday sent a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed his willingness to take the two countries’ strategic partnership “to a higher level.”

Mr. Li, who last year chose India for his first overseas trip after assuming office, said the two countries were “important neighbours” as well as the two largest emerging market countries.

“China-India relations had gone beyond the bilateral scope and were of global and strategic significance,” he said in his message, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

He said China had taken the relationship “as a priority of Chinese diplomacy.” His government, he added, was “willing to work with India to continuously lift their strategic cooperative partnership for peace

and prosperity to a higher level.”