China and India agreed in New Delhl on Tuesday to make concerted efforts to push forward their bilateral strategic and cooperative partnership.

Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks here in the day after a grand welcoming ceremony presided over by Indian President Abdul Kalam.

During the talks, the two leaders reached an important consensus on developing their strategic and cooperative partnership.

They agreed that the two countries shared extensive and sustained common interests at bilateral, regional and international facets, and were committed to safeguarding the rights and interests of developing countries and promoting multi-polarization of the world and democracy in international relations.

They hold that the Sino-Indian relationship has gone far beyond a bilateral level and is of global significance.

Hu and Singh highly evaluated bilateral relations.

Singh said Hu's visit was a new milestone in bilateral relations.

Hu, for his part, said China welcomed India's development, which offered opportunities rather than posing threats to China.

Hu said China took India as an important cooperative partner in Asia and the world at large, and considered their bilateral relationship as one of China's important bilateral relationships.

To develop a long-term and steady partnership with India was the Chinese government's fixed policy and strategic decision, and the Chinese side would work with the Indian side to push the bilateral partnership forward continuously, said Hu.

He made a six-point proposal for the development of bilateral ties.

The first is to strengthen dialogues and consultations and enhance political mutual trust with more high-level contacts and exchanges between different departments and at various levels of the two sides.

The second is to promote economic and trade cooperation for reciprocal and win-win results.

Both sides should expand trade, and remove trade and investment barriers for a realization of their trade target of 40 billion U.S. dollars a year in 2010.

They should strive to complete the feasibility study on the regional trade arrangement.

The third is to expand substantial cooperation and shared interests with keys on information technologies, energy, resources, infrastructure, science, technology and agriculture.

The fourth is to promote cultural exchanges and consolidate the friendship basis covering such areas as culture, education, tourism, religion, press and sports.

Both sides should pay due attention to the China-India friendship year through tourism set for 2007 to ensure it is a success, and the Chinese government has decided to invite 500 young Indians to China in the next five years.

The fifth is to push forward border demarcation negotiations and maintain peace and tranquility in border areas. The two sides should reach a just and rational settlement framework acceptable to both at an early date through peaceful and friendly negotiations on an equal footing and with mutual respect.

The sixth is to strengthen multi-lateral cooperation to safeguard common interests such as those in the United Nations and other multi-lateral organizations.

Singh said India looked at bilateral relations from the perspective of mutually beneficial cooperation instead of from that of rivalry, adding that to strengthen bilateral friendship and cooperation would exert a positive impact on world situation.

He said India paid great attention to bilateral relations and it was the consensus of all Indian political parties to forge firm and friendly relations with China.

The Indian side held that no force could hinder the further development of India-China relations, said Singh.

He agreed with Hu on the six-point proposal and said an early settlement of the boundary issue conformed to the fundamental interests of the two countries, hoping that it would be solved through friendly negotiations.

After the talks, Hu and Singh attended a signing ceremony for bilateral cooperative documents concerning investment, quarantine, human resources development, forestry, culture and the establishment of consulates-general at Guangzhou and Kolkata.

Hu arrived here on Monday evening for a state visit to India at the invitation of Indian President Abdul Kalam.

This is the first visit to India by a Chinese head of state in 10 years.

India is the third leg of Hu's four-nation tour, which has already taken him to Vietnam and Laos, and will also take him to Pakistan.

He also attended the 14th APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Economic Leaders' Meeting from Nov. 17 to 19 in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam.

Source: Xinhua