China President Xi's India Visit: 'Peaceful ties between dragon and elephant key to world peace'

NEW DELHI: If the "Chinese dragon" and the "Indian elephant" co-exist harmoniously, it will not only benefit 2.5 billion people in the two nations but also have far-reaching impact in the region and the world, Chinese President Xi Jinping said here today.

"Both China and India are influential countries in the world. When our two nations speak with one voice, the whole world will listen attentively," China's official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as telling Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their talks.

If the "Chinese dragon" and the "Indian elephant" co-exist harmoniously and realise peaceful, cooperative development, it will benefit 2.5 billion people in the two nations as well as those in other developing countries, and will have far- reaching effect in the region and the world as a whole, Xi said.

The report said that China and India have decided to step up trade and investment engagement to forge a closer development partnership despite their border disputes "left over by history".

"On border issue, the two countries should continue to carry out friendly consultation to seek a fair and reasonable solution that both sides can accept," Xi, also General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China, said.

"Before the border issue is eventually solved, we should jointly manage and control our disputes in a proper way and maintain peace and tranquility in the border regions. We should not let the border issue affect our bilateral relations," the Chinese President said as tension persisted in Chumar area in northeast Ladakh where Chinese troops were reported to have stepped up their presence today camping at three places in the Indian territory and refusing to vacate.

India asserts that the border dispute covered about 4,000 km, while China claims that it confined to about 2,000 km to the area of Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers as Southern Tibet.

The report also noted that the two Asian neighbours have agreed on investment in India's railways, industrial parks and the adjustment of their trade imbalance.