Chinese President Xi Jinping left for Chennai, India Friday to attend the second informal meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the invitation of the Indian leader.

As an extension of the first informal meeting between Xi and Modi in Wuhan, China last year, this meeting is regarded as the most important political agenda for China-India relations this year. It is highly anticipated by both peoples of the two countries and the international community.

The two leaders will carry out in-depth exchange of views on the strategic, long-term and overarching issues concerning the development of China-India relations, and navigate the next stage of the development of bilateral ties, so as to boost new positive progress in the exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various fields.

The relationship between the two countries wasn’t so close when I first came to India for work 10 years ago. However, during the past two months after I returned here, I’ve had profound experiences of the changes in the bilateral cooperation between China and India.

Now, billboards of Chinese enterprises can be seen everywhere in New Delhi, and there are always Chinese walking in malls and parks. This reflects the ever-deepening China-India cooperation in various areas in recent years.

As a participant in and witness to the development of bilateral relations between the two countries, I think the cooperation between China and India has the following characteristics.

Firstly, China and India have benefited from the exchanges and mutual learning between the two civilizations.

China and India both have great and long histories. The two civilizations have learned from and complemented each other, creating precious spiritual treasures for the human society.

Over 1,300 years ago, Chinese monk Xuan Zang in Tang Dynasty arrived in India after trekking across mountains and rivers. With perseverance and an open mind, he studied Indian culture and disseminated Chinese civilization, becoming a symbolic figure in the history China-India cultural exchanges.

In the 1950s, the two oriental civilizations pooled their wisdom and jointly put forward and advocated for the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and now it has become a basic norm in international relations.

Today, more and more Chinese are attracted by the Indian culture, and it is a fashion for them to watch Bollywood movies, practice yoga, and drink Indian black tea. Meanwhile, Chinese food, kung fu and traditional Chinese medicine are also showing their charm to the Indians who are very much impressed by China’s development achievements.

Secondly, China and India have gained strength from each other’s rapid social and economic development.

As the only two countries in the world with a population of more than 1 billion, China and India are the second and the seventh largest economies respectively. Their economic growth is also leading the world.

With huge market sizes and complementary industrial structures, China and India see bright prospects of bilateral cooperation. Industries and businesses of the two countries are eager to intensify their economic and trade cooperation.

So far, more than 1,000 Chinese enterprises have expanded their business to the Indian market, helping create 200,000 jobs for local communities. At the same time, over two-thirds of Indian companies investing in China have seen stable profits.

When Chinese smart phone maker Xiaomi and electric appliance company Haier are enjoying high popularity in India, thousands of Indian small and medium-sized enterprises have achieved rapid development thanks to the platforms offered by Chinese e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba.

Thirdly, China and India have seized opportunities as emerging markets and developing countries are rising.

As they are both large emerging markets, China and India often have the same or similar perspectives on many major international and regional issues. Both countries firmly uphold the international system with the UN at its core, advocate for trade liberalization and facilitation, and support developing countries in improving their institutional power in global governance.

In recent years, China and India have closely coordinated with each other in multilateral mechanisms including the Group of 20 (G20), BRICS, and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and jointly voiced their shared opinions on issues concerning global governance, thus enhancing stability and injecting positive energy into the world full of uncertainties.

Fourthly, China and India have worked shoulder to shoulder in their respective course of national rejuvenation. At present, China is endeavoring to realize its Two Centenary Goals and the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation. Meanwhile, India is striving to bring the vision of building a “new India” into reality.

The two countries, though on different development paths, are both marching toward the same goal: creating better lives for the people.

By learning from and drawing on the experiences of each other, further intensifying bilateral exchanges and complementing each other in win-win cooperation, China and India will create favorable conditions for common development.

The world today is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. The growth of China and India represents an irresistible trend and at the same time an important opportunity for both countries.

The two countries should understand and look at each other’s intentions with a positive, open, and inclusive mentality, adhere steadfastly to the mainstream direction of bilateral relations, and properly handle disagreements through dialogue and consultation.

With concerted efforts of both countries, China and India will certainly serve as positive elements in the changes of global power shift as well as a cooperative partner for each other in their efforts to boost national development.

As President Xi said before the 2014 BRICS summit in Brazil, if China and India speak in one voice, the whole world will attentively listen; if the two countries join hand in hand, the whole world will closely watch.

As the year 2020 will mark the 70 anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and India, the two countries will see new development opportunities in their bilateral ties.

Let us act together, take the important consensuses reached between the two leaders as guidance, and spread their consensuses to every level of our societies so as to continuously enrich the fruits of bilateral cooperation and jointly promote the construction of a new type of international relations and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

We are confident that China and India, as two major emerging economies, have the foresight and wisdom to jointly create a path of common development and win-win cooperation.

 (Sun Weidong is the Chinese Ambassador to India.)