India and China signed on 24 agreements

Janjivan Bureau
Beijing:Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang  signed 24 agreements Friday. In this agreement protocol on the setting up of consulates-general at Chengdu and Chennai, and extension of the consulate general of India in Guangzhou to include Jiangxi province.MoU in the field of vocational education and skill development. An action plan on cooperation in setting up of the Mahatma Gandhi National Institute for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
On this occasion Modi urged the Chinese leadership to adopt a fresh approach to contentious issues affecting relations between India and China so that the two sides could play a greater role on the world stage.
Modi described the India-China relationship in recent decades as “complex” but said both sides are committed to set a “new direction between the two largest Asian countries”.
Speaking alongside his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang after the two countries signed 24 agreements, Modi said both sides had agreed to continue to explore a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution” of their dragging border dispute. He also sought tangible progress on issues related to the visa policy and trans-border rivers.
“I am pleased to visit China in the first year of my government. This is one of our most important strategic partnerships…The re-emergence of India and China and their relationship will have a profound impact on the two countries and the course of this century,” he said.
He said he had found the Chinese leadership “responsive” to his suggestion that China take a strategic and long-term view of bilateral relations. “I stressed the need for China to reconsider its approach on some of the issues that hold us back from realising full potential of our partnership,” he added.
“On the boundary question, we agreed that we continue to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution. We both reiterated our strong commitment to make all efforts to maintain peace and tranquility in the border region,”  he said. Modi said he had found sensitivity to Indian concerns on the boundary issue and interest in intensifying confidence-building measures.