China and India, with common interests and similar legitimate claims, will never go with the flow, but are destined to uphold strategic persistence and achieve their respective development and revitalization as well as make greater contributions to the future of mankind, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, said during his meeting on Thursday with Indian External Affairs Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) Foreign Ministers' meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

Since March this year, China and India have maintained communication and exchanges, effectively managed differences, and a momentum of recovery has been shown in the overall bilateral relations between the two countries that have common interests and similar legitimate claims, Wang said.

Major countries like China and India will never go with the flow against the backdrop of the changes of a century in the world, Wang noted.

We need to take concrete actions to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, being each other's partner, not posing a threat to each other and being a mutual development opportunity, bringing bilateral relations back on the right track as early as possible, Wang said.

According to Wang, China appreciates India's active support and cooperation in the BRICS Summit and the High-level Dialogue on Global Development recently hosted by China. China will also support India in hosting the G20 summit and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization SCO in 2023.

Both China and India adhere to the overall direction of multilateralism and they share many common propositions in safeguarding peace and security, promoting economic recovery, improving global governance and working together to fight against COVID-19, Wang said, noting that the two countries should step up coordination and cooperation to promote more democratic international relations and a fairer international order, making the growing voices of developing countries to be heard and their legitimate interests better safeguarded.

Jaishankar said that both sides have made positive progress in maintaining border stability, promoting practical cooperation and facilitating people-to-people exchanges since his meeting with Wang in March.

According to Jaishankar, India looks forward to a positive, cooperative and constructive relationship with China and it is ready to work with China to send a clear message to the outside world, to speed up the process to improve relations, and to turn the consensus and visions of the two countries' leaders into reality.

India thanked China for supporting its hosting of the G20 and SCO next year and will continue to adhere to strategic independence and an independent stance in international affairs.

Global Times