NEW DELHI, Jan 16 (IANS): China has predicted "a golden period" for relations with India, with a top official saying Beijing was "fully committed to developing long-term friendship" with New Delhi.
Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo, said to be close to Chinese President Hu Jintao, wrote in an article in The Hindu Monday: "While working hard to develop itself, China is fully committed to developing long-term friendship and cooperation with India. It is our genuine hope that India will enjoy prosperity and its people, happiness.
"There does not exist such a thing as China's attempt to 'attack India' or 'suppress India's development'. China will remain committed to the path of peaceful development," he wrote.
Underlining the need for closer ties with India, Dai said: "We speak with one voice and enjoy increasingly closer coordination and collaboration in multilateral mechanisms and in tackling global challenges."
The influential Chinese politician and diplomat also rejected that his country had rivalry with India.
"We need to view each other's development in a positive light and regard each other as major partners and friends, not rivals. We always need to be each other's good neighbour, good friend and good partner," he said.
"What we face is a golden period to grow China-India relations. The world has enough space for China and India to achieve common development, as there are so many areas for us to work together," he said.
Dai's comments came against the backdrop of recent discordant notes in bilateral ties.
China recently denied visa to an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer who was to go as a member of the Indian military delegation to China, on grounds that he was from Arunachal Pradesh, the Indian state claimed by China. This led to India scaling down its delegation from the original 30 members to 15.
