China on Tuesday hoped that Congress president Sonia Gandhi's upcoming visit to the Communist nation would promote mutual understanding between the two countries and enhance bilateral ties as well as cooperation in various fields.
"We wish her visit a success," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters when queried about Sonia's five-day visit from October 25 at the invitation of Chinese President and the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) general secretary Hu Jintao.
During his visit to India last year, Hu had met Sonia, also the UPA chairperson, and invited her to visit China.
"We hope the visit will promote mutual understanding between the two countries and enhance our relations as well as cooperation in various fields," Liu said. Her visit will be the first by a foreign leader after the conclusion of CPC's National Congress, its most important five-yearly event, at which Hu was re-elected the party boss for another five-year term.
She had last visited China in 1996 and her planned trip in 2003 was cancelled. The CPC has said it attaches "great importance" to Sonia's visit and is apparently quite keen to host the Congress chief, who had visited China in 1988 also along with her husband, late Rajiv Gandhi, when he was Prime Minister, in a path-breaking event in Sino-India relations.
Replying to a query on the boundary problem between India and China, Liu said the two sides were continuing dialogue and consultations on the issue and maintaining peace and stability on the border conforms to the fundamental interests of both countries.
"I hope the two countries will follow the relevant principles to press ahead with peaceful negotiations," he said. On the trilateral meeting among China, Russia and India at the northeast Chinese city of Harbin on Wednesday, he said it was a "regular meeting" which would discuss issues of common interest and also holding of the next meeting.
China stated last week that the trilateral meeting was being held to discuss "pragmatic" ways to further cooperation but it was not targeted at a third party.
"This kind of cooperation is helpful and open. It is not targeted at any third party," Liu had said on the significance of the second such meeting among Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
The last such meeting was held in New Delhi on February 14 and the first took place in Vladivostok, Russia on June 2, 2005. Mukherjee is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Yang, especially since both sides are preparing actively for the planned visit to China by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later this year.
