2018 a momentous year in India-China ties: Vikram Misri

The year 2018 was momentous for India-China relations during which the bilateral ties witnessed an all-round expansion covering political and economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and defence interactions, India's envoy to China, Vikram Misri, said Monday.

Highlighting last year's Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Misri in his address at the reception to celebrate India's 70th Republic Day here listed a host of high-level official visits that took place between the two countries.

"The year just gone by was a truly momentous one for India-China relations. The Wuhan Informal Summit between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping in April marked an important milestone in our closer development partnership and was the high point during the year," he said.

Modi and Xi met at Wuhan in April 27-28 last year in the first informal summit between the two leaders. It was conceived by both sides following the 2017 military standoff at Doklam which ratchet up tensions between the two countries. Since the summit, the two countries steadily normalised relations with intensified dialogue on various fronts including the military and trade.

Misri said the year 2018 also witnessed an all-round expansion in the ties between the two neighbours, covering political and economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and defence interactions.

India's trade and economic ties with China also witnessed steady growth, with three commercial protocols being signed in the last eight months, he said, adding that in 2019, India is looking forward to sustaining the momentum of the robust bilateral ties with China and further deepen the cultural connect between the two ancient civilisations.

At a high-level meeting held in Delhi in December last year, 10 focus areas -- tourism, sports, yoga, traditional medicine, film and television, museums, education, culture, youth and provincial-level exchanges -- were identified to further the ties between India and China, the envoy said.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui and several military officials and diplomats from other nations attended the reception.