India and China are big emerging economies and rising powers, and the global significance of this bilateral relationship is evident, said Dr. TCA Raghavan, Director General of Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) during a recent interview with People’s Daily.

Raghavan said he was looking forward to the second informal meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He believes that this meeting will give a big forward movement in the bilateral relationship between the two countries, and China-India cooperation will promote the world multi-polarization and the process of economic globalization.

Established in 1943, the ICWA is an influential think tank of diplomatic policies in India, where Xi gave a very important speech titled “In Joint Pursuit of a Dream of National Renewal” on 18 September 2014.

Xi’s pointed out in the speech that China and India should become closer partners for development, cooperative partners for growth and global partners for strategic coordination. Raghavan commented that Xi’s remarks have pointed a direction for the future development of the relationship between the two countries.

He said that as the most populous two countries in the world, China and India are both experiencing rapid development.

The ICWA has held multiple meetings with relevant Chinese organizations, and the ICWA General Director is also paying long-term and close attention to China’s development. He believes that enhancing the communication between the think tanks of the two countries will be constructive for the promotion of mutual understanding and cultural exchanges.

Giving high appreciation on the informal meeting between Xi and Modi in Wuhan, China the last year, the ICWA official said that high-level guidance is a strategic power that propels the mutual trust between the two countries and advances China-India relations.

He told People’s Daily that the two leaders have been proactively promoting the all-round development between China and India, and enhancing dialogues on political and security issues, adding that the Wuhan informal meeting opened a new chapter for China-India relationship.

Raghavan said that the in-depth discussions conducted by both leaders on strategic, long-term and overarching issues at the informal meetings are of profound significance for the two countries and the world.

Since the Wuhan informal meeting, China and India have witnessed prospering exchanges and cooperation on trade and culture.

Raghavan believes that the second informal meeting between the two leaders at Chennai will surely achieve fruitful results.