China and India intend to strengthen strategic communication and to enhance mutual trust, promote practical cooperation and deepen the convergence of each other's interests, start bilateral negotiations on regional trade arrangements, and will together advocate building up an economic corridor among Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar and push for closer links between the two major markets of China and India. They will also strengthen defense and security cooperation, expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges and enhance mutual understanding.

2014 has been designated the "Year of China-India Friendly Exchanges" and will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the launch of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. They will also take into account each other's concerns and properly handle sensitive issues, strengthen communication and consultation on border issues, maintain peace and tranquility along the borders before reaching a solution acceptable to both sides, and make full use of the existing mechanisms to beef up cooperation on issues concerning cross-border rivers.

Li reiterated the principle position of the Chinese government on Tibet, and Singh said that the Indian government recognizes the Tibetan Autonomous Region as part of Chinese territory and will not allow any force to conduct anti-China activities on Indian soil.

Li's visit to Pakistan showed that strategic cooperation between the two countries maintains strong momentum and is forging ahead. Pakistan has been one of the countries severely affected by the US-led war on terror and the war in Afghanistan. Li's visit shows China's sincere concern and enduring support for its "iron brother" and "all-weather friend". His visit not only consolidated the traditional friendship between the two countries and deepened strategic cooperation, it also enhanced bilateral economic and trade cooperation, including China's operation of Gwadar port and Pakistan's participation in China's Beidou Satellite Navigation System.

Li's European trip also bore fruit. During his visit to Switzerland, the two sides announced the completion of talks concerning a new free trade agreement, the first to be signed between Beijing and continental Europe. Meanwhile, Germany's strong role in resisting the European sovereign debt crisis makes its strategic partnership with China more important then ever before, as the eurozone is in recession and there is still no end in sight to its sovereign debt crisis.

The diplomatic initiatives of China's new leadership have deepened China's diplomacy in a comprehensive way against the background of the US' transocean partnerships.

The author is deputy director of World Politics Research Institute, affiliated to the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

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