'2012 offers great potential for Sino-India ties'

Beijing: China on Friday said 2012 offered great potential for Sino-India relations and that there is "extensive space" for development of ties.

"2012 is a year of great importance to build bilateral relations" Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said while briefing about Thursday's talks between Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Indian leaders in New Delhi.

The two countries have "agreed on plans to promote peace and cooperation which will boost friendly cooperation and create favourable atmosphere", he said. "It will also promote cooperation across the board and send positive signal to the outside", he added.

Yang concluded two day visit to New Delhi after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister SM Krishna.

During the talks, the two countries also discussed the exploration of maritime cooperation between the two sides, Hong said.

The two sides agreed to maintain high level exchanges and contacts, enhance diplomatic consultations and increase exchanges between political parties and militaries to ensure greater strategic and political mutual trust, make use of strategic economic dialogue and other mechanisms and uplift business cooperation level and expand new cooperation areas, Hong said.

The two sides will also expand the cultural and people to people exchanges.

The two sides will promote negotiation process on China-India boundary issue and make use of newly set up consultation and coordinating working mechanism of boundary affairs to ensure the peace and security of the border areas, he said.

Hong quoted Yang as saying that under the current international and regional circumstances, bilateral relations face extensive space over development.

Hong highlighted Singh's remarks that India-China relations are among the most important bilateral relations in the world.

He quoted Singh as saying that the "two countries are not rivals but cooperative partners. The world has enough space for the common development of India and China as well as for their greater cooperation. India-China relations enjoy great potential".

The Indian side welcomed the Chinese leaders' visit to India for BRICS Summit and likes to use this occasion to push forward India-China relations, he said referring to the proposed visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to New Delhi later this month to take part in the summit.

Foreign Minister Yang said that China is ready to fully support and coordinate with India in hosting the summit and make new contributions to cooperation among BRICS counties, he said.