Xi says his informal summit with Modi will open new chapter in ties

WUHAN, CHINA: Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in central China Friday, saying he expected their two-day informal meeting will open a new chapter in bilateral ties, according to China’s state-run news agency Xinhua.

Welcoming Modi's visit to Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, Xi said in the past three years, he and Modi have established a good working relationship through mutual visits and meetings at multilateral events, according to Chinese officials.

The two leaders have reached many important consensuses via these meetings, which have sent the world a positive signal on China-India friendship and reflected the strong will of the two emerging economies to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation and achieve common development, according to Xi.


"The great cooperation between our two great countries can influence the world," Xinhua reported quoting Xi.

Xi suggested that both sides should look at the complete picture of Sino-Indian ties from a strategic perspective, so as to ensure that relations between the two countries always proceed in the right direction. It is understood that all contentious issues were touched upon at the delegation level talks following one-on-one Summit. Decisions and understanding from this delegation level talks will be available later on Saturday

He called for continuous strengthening of friendly relations between the two countries so that their friendship will continue to flow forward like the Yangtze and Ganges rivers.

China stands ready to work with India to establish a closer partnership of development, so as to promote all-round progress in exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various sectors, Xi said.

During their visit to an exhibition of cultural relics at Hubei Provincial Museum on Friday afternoon, Xi said that the culture that rose around the region of Hubei Province in ancient times was an important part of and played a decisive role in the development of the Chinese civilization. Both China and India are countries with a splendid history and culture, and there are many similarities between cultures of the two countries, Xi said, according to Xinhua.

The president said that China and India should conduct exchanges in wider areas and at a deeper level, commit themselves to the revival of Eastern civilizations, advocate the respect for diversity of civilizations and promote harmonious coexistence of different civilizations.