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This was part of the Indian leadership’s message to the Chinese leadership, as both sides exchanged messages of felicitation between the Presidents, Prime Ministers and External Affairs Ministers on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China on April 1.

In his letter to China’s President Xi Jinping, President Ram Nath Kovind conveyed warm greetings, felicitations and good wishes to China’s government and its people. He observed that the two sides have made “considerable progress, especially in the last few years in enhancing our bilateral engagement in a number of areas, including political, economic and people-to-people ties.”

His Chinese counterpart noted in his message that China-India relations have travelled a “remarkable journey” in the last seven decades. Xi said, according to a statement from the Chinese embassy: “I place great importance on this partnership and am ready to work with President Kovind to take it to a new level. A stronger China-India relationship will bring more benefits to our two countries and peoples and contribute more positive energy to Asia and the world at large.”

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in his letter to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, said that due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the two sides have been “unable to carry out the various activities that had been planned to celebrate this historic anniversary”.

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