Chinese premier discusses bilateral ties with new Indian PM

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, in a telephone hook-up Thursday, told new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that China was willing to enhance mutual trust and regarded each other's development as opportunities.

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which was jointly initiated by China, India and Myanmar in 1954, Li said China was willing to further strengthen cooperation with India and jointly push ahead the construction of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridor.

China was also willing to enhance exchanges in the humanistic field and other areas and look for more converging points of interest to jointly make contributions to the peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world, Li said.

Li congratulated Modi's swearing-in as India's new prime minister, saying that, with concerted efforts by both sides, relations between China and India had developed significantly in recent years, and the two countries had jointly explored a way to relate to each other, in which cooperation was actively explored and differences were properly managed and controlled.

China and India were both countries with a long history of civilization, and they were also the two largest developing countries and most vigorous emerging economies in the world, the Chinese premier said, adding the two countries were natural cooperation partners.

The cooperation between and common development of China and India would not only benefit their peoples, but also make a major contribution to settling the issue of development of the entire mankind, Li said.

Modi said India and China were friendly neighbors and friendly exchanges between their peoples had a long history.

India was delighted with the achievements China had made in development, Modi said, adding developing relations with China was one of the important tasks of India's diplomacy.

India's new government attached great importance to India-China relations from a strategic high perspective, and was willing to work with China to advance bilateral cooperation in various fields, solve existing issues through dialogue, and achieve friendly and harmonious co-existence and common development, Modi said.

In 1954, China, India and Myanmar initiated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which stand for mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

Modi, the 63-year-old Hindu nationalist leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was sworn in Monday as India's new prime minister.