Practical progress in bilateral ties urged

Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on China and India to make practical progress as soon as possible on the resumption of direct flights, exchanges of journalists and visa facilitation.

He made the remarks on Monday in a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Wang urged the two countries to enhance mutual trust and reduce suspicion, expand cooperation and reduce attrition.

More positive signals should be sent out and more efforts are needed to boost bilateral exchanges, he added.

The talks came close on the heels of the meeting between President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kazan, Russia, held less than a month ago. The meeting was described by Wang as a restart of bilateral ties.

Both Beijing and New Delhi should respect each other's core interests, consolidate mutual trust through dialogue and communication, properly deal with differences with sincerity and push bilateral ties back to the sound and steady development track at an early date, Wang said.

China and India will celebrate the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic ties next year. Wang called for planning commemorative activities and encouraging communications and visits in various fields and at various levels to enhance mutual understanding and trust.

He emphasized that shared interests far outweigh the differences between the two neighbors.

As major developing nations, Wang said China and India should view each other's development as opportunities, and join hands to achieve common development and vitalization.

He also called on the two countries to strengthen coordination in international affairs and promote greater development of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Jaishankar said India hopes to resume relevant dialogue mechanisms with China, and maintain the momentum of improving bilateral relations through enhanced communication.