China, India commit to closer ties

CHINESE State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar have met in Beijing.

Wang called on both sides to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, cherish the outcomes of the improvement of bilateral relations, further enhance mutual trust and deepen cooperation, according to a Chinese official press release.

Jaishankar said that India is looking forward to the second informal meeting between the leaders of the two countries in India this year.

Both sides believe

that they should safeguard their developing country status and safeguard their rights of development and legitimate interests in the World Trade Organization.

Wang stated China’s principled position on India’s recent unilateral move on the Kashmir issue.

He said that China hopes India will play a constructive role in regional peace and stability.

Jaishankar explained that India’s stance, noting India is willing to exercise restraint and improve relations with Pakistan.

India will also abide by the consensus reached with China on maintaining peace in the border and continue to work with China to solve the border issue through consultations.

Later on Monday, Wang and Jaishankar co-chaired the second meeting of the China-India high-level people-to-people exchanges mechanism.

As the two largest emerging economies and the most populous nations in the world, cooperation between India and China is of great global importance, Jaishankar said in an exclusive interview.

“Our relationship is so big that it is no longer a bilateral relationship. It has global dimensions,” Jaishankar said.

(Xinhua)