India, China mark 70 years of diplomatic ties

India and China on Wednesday marked 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"Today - 1 April 2020 - is the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of #India and the People's Republic of #China | Congratulations and best wishes to all friends in India and China. Wish all of them peace, prosperity and good health," Indian Ambassador to China, Vikram Misri, tweeted.

To commemorate the special occasion, the two neighbours had planned to hold 70 programmes, 35 in each country, the then Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale had said following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek.

"The two leaders have tasked their respective foreign ministers to discuss this matter at the second meeting of the high-level mechanism," Gokhale had said.

He had also stated that the date and venue of the summit were yet to be decided while media reports in India had earlier said that it would be held in Modi's home state of Gujarat.

But the plans were shelved in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which till date, has infected 81,554 people in China.

Meanwhile, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 1,466 in India, while 132 people have been cured and discharged after receiving treatment, as per the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday.

The number of deaths due to the infection also rose to 38, while one person has migrated.