On February 13, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing held talks with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee in the Indian capital of New Delhi, exchanging extensive views on bilateral ties, as well as regional and international issues of common interest.

 

During the meeting, Li said the Sino-Indian relations have maintained a favorable momentum of comprehensive development with the successful visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao last November and the recent meeting between Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the East Asian Summit. The leaders of the two countries reached important consensus on deepening their strategic cooperative partnership, which shows clearly the direction for the development of bilateral ties, said Li.

 

Li said bilateral economic and trade cooperation has been developing rapidly and the exchanges and cooperation in the areas of energy, science, technology, culture and education have been deepened in an all-round manner. The two countries have also conducted sound coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs, he added. China is willing to work with India to fully implement the 10-point strategy in the joint declaration between the two countries, in a bid to push for in-depth development of Sino-Indian strategic partnership, he said.

 

Agreeing with Li's comments on bilateral ties, Mukherjee said the development of India-China relations is conducive to both sides as well as regional and world peace and stability.

 

With the landmark visit of the Chinese president and the meeting between the Chinese premier and the Indian prime minister, the two countries should implement the consensus reached by their leaders in an all-round and earnest manner as soon as possible so as to push forward the bilateral ties, said Hu.

 

The two foreign ministers also announced the formal start of a hotline between them. They said China and India will also open the consulates general in Kolkata and Guangzhou by the end of this year and establish their tourism offices in New Delhi and Shanghai respectively. Both sides will also carry out a program on the exchange of visits of hundreds of young people between the two countries and officially kick off the China-India Friendship Year Through Tourism, they said.