India committed to develop friendly, cooperative relations with China: President Mukherjee

President Pranab Mukherjee has said that India attaches the highest priority to its relations with China and is committed to further developing friendly and cooperative relations with the neighbouring country.

A Parliamentary delegation from China, led by the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Zhang Dejiang, called on President Mukherjee on Monday at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Welcoming the delegation, President Mukherjee said Zhang's visit to India reflects the growing relations between India and China and will help revitalise India-China parliamentary exchanges, especially since the last visit of the chairman of the National People's Congress took place 14 years ago.

The last visit of the speaker of the Lok Sabha to China was in 2006.

The President invited Chinese companies to increase their involvement in India's manufacturing sector, stating that there is no reason why Chinese companies should not take advantage of India's 'Make in India' initiative. The President expressed appreciation of the Chairman's high political standing as member of the standing committee of the Politburo of the Chinese communist party and his deep knowledge of India-China relations.

He expressed confidence that Zhang's visit will provide new impetus to bilateral relations.

Responding to the President, Zhang said he was deeply impressed by the consensus amongst all high level leaders of India for greater cooperation with China.

He further noted that India and China are the largest developing countries and emerging markets and that they together have a population of around 2.5 billion people. He further said that they have shown strong energy and vitality in recent times, noting that friendship between the two countries will not just benefit the people of the two countries but also have a potential impact on the entire region and the world.