Beijing, August 13: China and India have on Monday inked four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and agreed to establish some 100 programmes in the coming months in a bid to further bolster the people-to-people and cultural relationship between two nations.
The four arrangements were agreed following the second conference of the India-China High-Level Mechanism (HLM) on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges, which was chaired by visiting Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
The two sides agreed to enhance cultural exchanges for the organization of cultural activities in both nations, management of archaeological heritage hubs, and preservation of the intangible cultural heritage.
They also agreed to promote cooperation in the sector of traditional medicine, where both nations have richly accumulated the knowledge over centuries, with objectives of enhancing the development of these medicines in both countries’ system of healthcare.
Addressing a joint media conference with Wang in Beijing, Jaishankar said, “Third, we agreed to promote exchanges between our National Sports Associations, sportspersons and youth for strengthening cooperation on international sports events.”
He added, “Lastly, we agreed on the cooperation in Museum Management for promoting collaboration between Hubei Provincial Museum, Wuhan and the National Museum, New Delhi in the field of exhibitions, protection and restoration of collections and archaeological excavations for Museums.”
The two leaders also announced several other new initiatives, including generating further facilities for Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims, during the joint media conference.
Jaishankar said Beijing had made suggestions over expanding the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, adding, “Some suggestions were made by the Chinese side to expand Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and we are deeply appreciative of these initiatives.”
In response, Wang stated Tibet government and China are working closely in order to improve the facilities for Kailash pilgrims.
Wang said, “The Chinese government and local government, in particular, have been working to provide facilities and that pathway has increasingly become a pathway of friendship. And today officials proposed that we can do produce a documentary on pilgrims so that we can tell a good story of our traditional friendship.”
Moreover, the two sides agreed to decrease their difference in order to bolster people-to-people exchanges.
Wang said China and India both believe that to bolster people-to-people exchanges, both need to be inclusive and create common ground while minimising differences.
In reference to India’s trade deficit with Beijing, Wang said his nation appreciate New Delhi’s concerns on trade imbalances and “stands ready to continue to provide facilities for Indian exports”.
On the other side, both leaders discussed the full gamut of issues ranging from bilateral, regional and international situations including the upcoming visit of Chinese leader Xi Jinping to New Delhi to attend the second informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this year and commemorating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomacy next year.