By Wang Chenyan

BEIJING - Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo, who is in New Delhi attending the 15th Sino-Indian talks between special representatives on border issues, said in an article published on Monday in The Hindu newspaper that there is no existence of "China's attempt to 'attack India' or 'suppress India's development'".

The visiting councilor held talks on Monday with Indian National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon on bilateral boundary issues and will meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.

Dai predicted that China and India will face a golden period to develop bilateral relations and "while working hard to develop itself, China is fully committed to developing a long-term friendship and cooperation with India. It is our genuine hope that India will enjoy prosperity and its people, happiness", he said in the article.

Noting that China and India are emerging countries that account for nearly two-fifths of the world's population, Dai praised the Sino-Indian Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity, which has continued to grow rapidly, yielding fruitful results.

Trade between the two countries has grown from $2.9 billion in 2000 to $61.7 billion in 2010, according to Dai.

He emphasized that China and India "speak with one voice", which helps to nurture more cooperation under multilateral mechanisms to tackle global challenges.

Hu Shisheng, an expert in South Asia studies with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said leaders of the two Asian giants share the clear and practical view that Sino-Indian relations have global significance.

"Beijing and New Delhi understand the strategic importance of their ties are beyond the two countries. So I think their bilateral differences and historic disputes should not be put on the development path of the Sino-Indian relations," Hu said.

Both sides realized decades ago that the two countries are not rivals, he said. As a result, peace talks began in 1980s, and the countries signed two agreements to maintain peace and stability on Sino-Indian borders.

"I think it was the positive attitude of the Chinese government that finally got the negotiations resumed because we know such a mechanism is precious for the two emerging countries to communicate, especially when the West is suspicious of globalization due to the financial crisis, " Hu said.

(January 17, 2012, China Daily)