President Pratibha Patil on Saturday said the commitment of China's top leadership, including her counterpart Hu Jintao, to strengthen Sino-Indian ties was evident during the 'wide-ranging and constructive' talks she had with them. In her first public engagement in Shanghai, China's gleaming business hub, Patil said India and China enjoy a thriving trade and economic relationship, vibrant cultural ties and also greater people-to-people exchanges.
"I have had wide-ranging and constructive discussions with President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and other Chinese leaders. Their commitment to strengthening India-China ties was evident in all our interactions," Patil said, addressing the Indian community.
Patil, who is the first Indian head of State to visit China in a decade, had met Hu and Wen on Thursday in Beijing and had discussed ways and means to take the strategic relationship to 'great heights'.
Patil, who arrived in Shanghai after inaugurating the first Indian-styled Buddhist temple in China at Luoyang, said the bilateral ties have expanded and diversified considerably. She said the two countries are working closely on many important global issues, including climate change, international financial and economic matters at the G-20 and at the Doha round of global trade negotiations.
Patil lauded the Indian community for their contributions in strengthening India-China relations. "Through your work and life here and elsewhere in China, you have become messengers of India-China friendship, modern-day Dharmaratnas and Kumarajeevas. It is to you that the task of carrying forward our lasting traditions of friendship has been bequeathed," Patil said.
She said the Indian community in China has the special responsibility of creating goodwill and functioning as a bridge between the two nations. "Your interactions with the local people and your achievements in China will shape perceptions about India," she said.
Patil also noted that her visit coincides with the 60th anniversary year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"Our participation at the Shanghai Expo 2010 is also an integral part of our outreach to the Chinese people, which allows us to project our values and ethos," she said.
