Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj delivered speeches at the inaugural session of the India-China High-Level Media Forum in New Delhi on Friday. The forum formed part of the India-China High-Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges.
With leading media organizations from both countries in attendance, the event is exploring ways of promoting a closer partnership between the two countries for mutual development.
Wang Yi summarized the common understandings reached as follows:
• People-to-people exchanges between the two sides are good for both countries, as well as the whole world.
• It is the right time to expand people-to-people exchanges and much more can be done.
• The two sides should conduct exchanges in various fields, such as cooperation in cultural communication, heritage protection, education, language teaching, sports etc..
• The two sides should develop brand projects of people-to-people exchanges.
• People-to-people exchanges should come from the people and for the people with more popular programs to be explored.
• The two countries should take an active part in people-to-people exchanges under the frameworks of such entities as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
Wang said that the two sides can greatly increase mutual visits by visitors.
"The current number is a very small one, compared with the total size of our combined population of 2.7 billion. Both of us have many megacities," he added.
China and India both agree that cultural and people-to-people exchanges are helpful to increase mutual understanding and friendship between the two sides, he maintained.
Currently, China is striving for the realization of its two centenary goals, and India is devoted to building a "New India." said Wang.
The Indian foreign minister said that ten areas of people-to-people exchanges were discussed, including cultural exchanges, cooperation in film and TV, cooperation in sports, cooperation in tourism and exchanges in traditional medicine.
"I am very satisfied with the quality of our discussions today and I am also very encouraged by the keen interest shared by both sides, with new and concrete ideas," Swaraj said.
The China-India high-level mechanism has had a very good beginning, she said, adding that the event will help the two countries build a greater bilateral relationship.
"We are neighboring countries, which makes our relations more special. The special partnership is not only important at the regional level but globally as well."
The informal meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that set up the mechanism was a milestone, and since then the two leaders have met three times this year with more constructive and strategic guidance to bilateral relations reached, she noted.
Wang also met India's President Ram Nath Kovind earlier on Friday and the two sides pledged to further boost people-to-people exchanges.
The consulting mechanism follows the tradition of exchanges between the two great civilizations, meets the wish of the two peoples to strengthen communications and mutual understanding, and complies with the need for comprehensive development of bilateral ties, he said.
Wang is visiting India from December 21 to 24.