'Sino-India ties are of global significance'

NEW DELHI: China's outgoing Ambassador Sun Yuxi, whose tenure was marked by a controversy over his remarks on Arunachal Pradesh, says good relationship between the two countries is important as their ties are of global and strategic significance.

The 56-year-old career diplomat, who is returning home to take up a new assignment, feels that the two countries are also far behind in realising the full potential of their ties.

"When I came, our bilateral trade was only $13.7 billion and now it is over $30 billion. I am so happy that our relationship is developing very fast," he told media here ahead of his departure to Beijing. "But it is still far behind our potential. There is a lot to be desired."

"No matter where I am going, I will continue to be a friend of India and work to promote this good relationship which is so important for China and India," Sun said.

He also noted that both sides agree that the relationship between India and China, the two biggest developing countries in the world, is of global and strategic significance.

"I feel very lucky to be the Chinese Ambassador to India at this time," Sun said.

"During my term, our bilateral relations were upgraded to strategic cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity," he said on the decision of the two countries to establish a Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity during the visit of Premier Wen Jiabao to India in 2005.

During the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to India in November 2006, "we laid out a 10-point strategic agenda to develop our relationship," he said on the strategy for future development of relations by the two governments.