Why the Chinese are optimistic about ties with India

Beijing, Dec 22: Chinese President Xi Jinping said Sino-India relations are "actively" moving forward with deepening mutual trust and cooperation, as the foreign ministers of the two countries held extensive talks in New Delhi under a newly established framework.

In his message of congratulations to the first meeting of 'High Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges' being held in New Delhi, Xi said China and India are both ancient civilisations boasting long history and splendid culture.

The two civilizations, with close exchanges and mutual learning from the ancient time, have both made significant contributions to the human development and progress, he said.

"Today, China-India relations are actively moving forward, with mutual political trust deepening, practical cooperation accelerating, people-to-people and cultural exchanges flourishing, and bilateral coordination in international and regional affairs sustaining," state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying.

It has been proved by practice that a good bilateral relationship benefits not only both countries but also the whole world, Xi added.

The Chinese president also expressed the hope for the two sides to make proper use of the high-level people-to-people exchange mechanism.

With the help of the profound implication in the two Oriental civilisations, China and India should promote the communication between the minds of the two peoples and forge a closer development partnership, Xi said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday held extensive talks in New Delhi and agreed on "ten pillars" of cooperation to enhance cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

The 10 pillars are cultural exchange, cooperation in films and television, cooperation in museum administration, cooperation sports, exchanges between youths, cooperation on tourism, exchanges between states and cities, cooperation in traditional medicine, cooperation in yoga and cooperation in education.

The 'High Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges' was decided upon during the Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi.