Narendra Modi calls Xi Jinping to congratulate him on re-election; leaders agree bilateral ties vital for 'Asian Century'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Chinese president Xi Jinping to congratulate him on his re-election.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Chinese president Xi Jinping on Tuesday to congratulate him on his re-election for a second five-year term, People's Daily reported.
#BREAKING: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates #XiJinping on election as Chinese president in phone talk, pledges closer exchanges, deepened ties pic.twitter.com/SB3bSAkG8D
— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) March 20, 2018
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People's Daily further reported that Xi told Modi that China is willing to maintain a good momentum of bilateral cooperation with India.
According to ANI, the two leaders agreed that bilateral relations between India and China are vital for realisation of 21st Century as ‘Asian Century’.
The 64-year-old Chinese leader was unanimously elected by the 2,970 deputies of Chinese Parliament the National People's Congress (NPC) last week.
On Monday, in a message posted on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, Modi congratulated Xi, saying he is looking forward to work with him to further develop India-China relations.
File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping. AP
“Dear President Xi Jinping, congratulations on getting re-elected as the president of the People's Republic of China," Modi wrote. “I look forward to working with you for further development of our bilateral relations," he said.
Modi, who currently has over one lakh followers on Weibo, opened his account during his visit to China in 2015.
Earlier, China's National People's Congress also ratified a proposal to remove the two-term limit for president Xi, essentially paving the way for him to become leader for life.
India and China are currently making diplomatic efforts to improve the relations following the 73-day standoff at Doka La in Sikkim.
Modi and Xi are expected to meet in June, on the side-lines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit at Qingdao.
With inputs from PTI
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