PM meets Wen; says India wants 'best of relations' with China

Kaul Bali (Indonesia), Nov 18: Weeks after war of words between India and China over the exploitation of South China Sea resources, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao met here today (Nov 18) and agreed on the need for working together as there was "enough space" and areas for them to work together for mutual benefit.

Singh told Wen that India was committed to developing the "best of relations" with China while the latter underlined that the two countries should work "hand-in-hand" to ensure that the 21st century belongs to Asia.

"We are neighbours and also large growing economies of Asia. We should cooperate bilaterally and globally," Singh told Wen as they met here on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia Summits.

To press this point, Singh noted that whenever India and China had worked together on climate change, it has had a "positive impact" on the global stage.

Visualising "cooperative partnership" with China, Singh reminded Wen that he had said that "there is enough space in the world for both India and China to grow."

Adding on this point, Wen said, "there are enough areas in our world where India and China can enhance cooperation."

PTI