Chinese envoy hails Tagore's efforts, bats for stronger ties with India

Xu Wei, the Consul General of China in Kolkata, was speaking at a programme in Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan to mark the end of the centenary celebration of Tagore's 1924 visit to China

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Recalling Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's initiatives to bring India and China culturally closer, Chinese envoy Xu Wei on Tuesday stressed further improving bilateral ties between the two nations.

Wei, the Consul General of China in Kolkata, was speaking at a programme in Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan to mark the end of the centenary celebration of Tagore's 1924 visit to China.

"Tagore had advocated improving cultural ties between the two countries, and had visited China 100 years ago. Relations between our two countries are very good," he said on the inaugural day of the two-day programme titled 'Marking the end of the centenary celebration of Rabindranath Tagore's visit to China in 1924'.

Hailing 75 years of India-China diplomatic relations, Wei said, "There is every possibility, potential and great scope in further improving our bilateral ties and we are proceeding along that path."  He was speaking at the function organised by 'Cheena Bhavan', the Department of Chinese Studies and Research, on Visva-Bharati campus.

Welcoming the consul general, Vice Chancellor Probir Kumar Ghosh referred to Tagore's vision for exchanges in the domain of art and culture and called for boosting people-to-people ties between the university and its Chinese counterparts.

Twelve Chinese and Indian scholars each are taking part in the conference.

Founded in 1937 by the Nobel laureate, 'Cheena Bhavan' is a centre of India-China cultural studies, promoting visits of academics, students and research scholars from both sides over the years.