India, China should appropriately address differences: Xi

Beijing, May 27: India and China should appropriately address their differences and consolidate political trust by maintaining strategic communications between the top leaders, Chinese leaders said in their meetings with President Pranab Mukherjee, state media reported today.

"The two sides should appropriately address our differences," President Xi Jinping told Mukherjee during their meeting here yesterday, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Describing Mukherjee as a "seasoned statesman" and "an old friend of China", Xi pledged to boost the strategic and cooperative partnership with India and proposed that the two sides consolidate political trust by maintaining strategic communication between state leaders and making use of various bilateral dialogue mechanisms.

In his meeting with Mukherjee, Premier Li Keqiang said the two countries' development constituted opportunities for each other. Li suggested the two sides align China's 'Made in China 2025' campaign and 'Internet Plus' initiative with India's 'Make in India' and 'Digital India' campaigns, Xinhua said.

The cooperation and development of China and India will not only benefit one-third of the global population, but also help global economic recovery and growth, Li said. Mukherjee's four-day visit to China ended today with a meeting with State Councillor Yang Jiechi, who is also China's Special Representative for boundary talks with India.

Briefing media on Mukherjee-Xi talks, Director General of Asia department of the foreign ministry Xiao Qian said the two leaders agreed to work to resolve differences by every effort but at the same time, be realistic.

"It means they will manage well, the issues that cannot be addressed in a very short time so that these disagreements will not stand in the way of our development and cooperation," Xiao said yesterday.

The two leaders also agreed to further advance the boundary negotiations under the framework of special representatives so that the tranquillity and peace of the boundary region will be maintained, he said.

The boundary issue is a "legacy question from history. We have agreed on advancing the boundary negotiations under the framework of our special representatives mechanism.

But before the final settlement of the boundary question, we will take actions to maintain the peace and tranquillity in the boundary region", he said.

Hailing the development of the bilateral ties in recent years, Xi told Mukherjee that the two sides should stick to the theme of neighbourly friendship and reciprocal cooperation to cement the China-Indian relationship and benefit the people of the two countries, the Xinhua report said.

Xi also proposed to tap the potential for practical cooperation between India and China on railways, industrial park, smart city, new energy, environmental protection, information technology, human resources, industrial capacity, investment, tourism and services.

PTI