PM Modi pitches for strong bilateral ties with China

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday underscored the need for strengthening bilateral relations between India and China through his own version of "Panchsheel" or five-point agenda.

At the delegation-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the East Lake Guesthouse here, Prime Minister Modi said through the "Panchsheel", the bolstering of bilateral relations between the two Asian giants will be based on - shared vision, strong relationship, shared resolve, better communication and shared thought process.

"If we follow the path of Panchsheel, it will bring world peace, stability and prosperity," the Prime Minister added.

To this, President Xi said China was ready to cooperate and work with India to seek guidance, with the help of the five principles of Panchsheel, as proposed by Prime Minister Modi.

In 1954, when India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited China, he signed a peace treaty called "Panchsheel" with then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai to respect each other's sovereignty.

The original "Panchsheel" agreement stated the five principles as follows - mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs, peaceful coexistence and equality and cooperation for mutual benefit.

Stressing on the importance of India to China, Prime Minister Modi said, "This is possibly for the first time that you have met a country's leader twice outside the capital Beijing. This is a sign of the importance that you accord to India as a country."

Underscoring the need to work together, Prime Minister Modi added, "We (India-China) have the responsibility to work for 40 percent of the world population. This means trying to successfully get the world rid of many problems. To work together towards this is a big opportunity for us."

He further said that such informal summits between India and China should happen more often, adding that they should become a tradition between the two Asian giants.

Inviting President Xi to hold a similar informal summit next year in India, Prime Minister Modi said, "I hope such informal summits become a tradition between both countries. I'll be happy if, in 2019, we can have such an informal summit in India."

Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi and President Xi held one-on-one talks after the former arrived in Wuhan.

Both leaders discussed the historical past and civilisational ties of both India and China as Prime Minister Modi also recalled his visit to Three Gorges Dam when he was Gujarat's Chief Minister.

After that, President Xi took Prime Minister Modi on a tour of the exhibition of Marquis Yi of Zeng Cultural Relics and Treasure at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan.

The Hubei Provincial Museum, one of the most prominent museums in China, opened in 1954, and has many state-level historic and cultural relics.

The ongoing informal summit between India and China is expected to bring a thaw in tensions between the two nations, that had arisen due to the Doklam stand-off last year.

Prime Minister Modi will depart for India on Saturday afternoon.