China pay great importance to India: Xi Jinping

Beijing:  China’s new leader Xi Jinping has assured Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that his country would pay “great importance” to developing bilateral ties as their cooperation has brought “substantial benefits” to both sides.

“China will, as it has been doing, pay great importance to developing relations with India and expects to carry out close cooperation with India to create a brighter future of their bilateral relations,” Xi wrote in a letter to Singh which was delivered to him by top Chinese diplomat Dai Bingguo in New Delhi on January 11.

Xi’s letter was stated to be in response to a letter from Singh after his election as the General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) succeeding Hu Jintao.

Singh’s letter conveying his greetings to the new Chinese leadership as well as assurance to carry forward the relations was handed over by National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon last month when he visited Beijing.

Dai would be retiring from the post of State Councillor and top diplomat of China after a decade-long stint during which he held 15 rounds of talks with Menon and several of his predecessors.