'India, China have more common interests than divergences'

Kuala Lumpur: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang here on Saturday said that China and India -- the world's two largest developing countries -- have more common interests than divergences.

Li made the remarks while meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a series of leaders' meetings on East Asian cooperation, Xinhua reported.

China and India boosting mutual trust and cooperation will not only achieve win-win results, but also contribute to the peace, development and prosperity of Asia and the world at large, said Li.

Citing China's "Made in China 2025" and "Internet Plus" drives and India's "Make in India" and "Digital India" programmes, Li pointed out that the two countries have compatible development strategies and bilateral cooperation enjoys bright prospects.

China, he said, also stands ready to join hands with India to beef up cooperation in trade and investment, infrastructure construction and financial services, and broaden people-to-people exchanges, so as to further consolidate public support for bilateral relations.

Meanwhile, China is willing to work with India to strive for "early harvests" in the construction of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, he added.

Beijing, he said, also looks forward to strengthening coordination with New Delhi on multilateral affairs and jointly tackling terrorism and other global challenges.

Speaking of the development of India-China ties, Modi said his country is willing to work with China to implement the consensus the two sides have reached and deepen cooperation in such areas as trade and economy, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges, so as to make new progress in bilateral cooperation and promote Asian and global economic growth.

The two leaders also compared notes on global and regional affairs of common concern.

Modi early Saturday arrived in Kuala Lumpur for 13th Asean-India Summit and the 10th East Asia Summit on Sunday.