External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said India would make joint efforts with China to further the bilateral strategic ties. "I am happy to discuss and share our common perception on bilateral, regional and international situations," Mukherjee told his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in his opening remarks at their official talks in Beijing.
The two foreign ministers are expected to discuss the boundary row and irritants surrounding it during their talks being held at the Diaouyutai State Guest House. Mukherjee and Yang are expected to review the progress in the boundary talks between the Special Representatives of the two countries who have conducted 11 rounds of negotiations.
Yang thanked India for sending relief materials worth $5 million (about Rs 20 crore) to the quake victims in western China. He noted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well as Mukherjee have written personally to express grief over the natural calamity which has claimed nearly 70,000 lives.
The Chinese foreign minister said that he was convinced that India and China could cooperate more to push their strategic cooperative partnership. The meeting was also attended by Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and India's Ambassador to China, Nirupama Rao.
Mukherjee arrived in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Wednesday on a four-day visit to the Communist state. Earlier today, he officially inaugurated the Consulate General of India in Guangzhou, capital of the booming Guangdong province.
