You can scratch your head and wonder if Congress president Sonia Gandhi has ever given an interview to our own Press Trust of India, or how many interviews she has given the Indian media, but she has given a written interview to Xinhua, the official news agency of China.

On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Gandhi, in a written interview to Xinhua, has said that "at the party level, I believe that we should foster greater cultural and social linkages, especially among the youth, even as we promote trade, investment at the national levels, and international cooperation on multilateral issues of importance to both countries and on which we can adopt a common approach."

"Such a dialogue should address all vital issues of mutual concern through visits, seminars and a productive exchange of ideas, skills and experiences," Gandhi, who visited China in 2007 and 2008 as the Congress president, said in her interview.

Gandhi has also stressed that she is confident that "our party-to-party ties will foster greater mutual understanding between our leadership and our two people, and thereby impart positive momentum to the growth of multi-faceted relations between the two countries."

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