China has assured Pakistan that its warming ties with India would not affect the friendship between Beijing and Islamabad.
Beijing, Jan 23 : China has assured Pakistan that its warming ties with India would not affect the friendship between Beijing and Islamabad.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said improved relations with New Delhi were the need of the hour.
"China and India are both big developing countries. To improve relations is in the interests of both countries, and in the interests of regional stability, prosperity and development," the Daily Times quoted Jiang, as saying.
"Pakistan is China's strategic partner and China attaches great importance to China-Pakistan relations and China will make joint efforts with Pakistan to deepen bilateral strategic partnership," she added.
Jiang said China always supported India and Pakistan to improve their relations.
Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited China from January 13 to 15 this year.
During the landmark visit, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in four-and-a-half-years, India and China signed eleven documents covering five Memoranda of Understanding in fields of macro-economic management, operation of the economy, railway, housing and urban poverty alleviation, land resource management, paleo-climatic and palaeo-environmental changes, traditional medicine and sustainable development of agriculture.
Both countries also reiterated their willingness to find "a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution" to the vexed "boundary question" which has been in dispute since the 1962 Sino-India war.
Prime Minister Singh revealed both he and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao had instructed their respective special representatives (M K Narayanan and Dai Bingguo) to speed up the process of settlement as per the political guidelines set down between 2003 and 2007.
China also assured India of support civil nuclear cooperation India approached China, a key member of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for support for the US- India cooperation deal that if approved, could crucially meet India's demand for energy in times to come
India and China also agreed to enhance their partnership through comprehensive economic engagement and developing mutually beneficial cooperation in the areas of science and technology, culture, education, defence and security, and increasing people-to-people contacts.
The Sino-India trade target was also revised from 40 billion U.S. dollars to 60 billion dollars to be achieved by 2010.
ANI