Beijing, Sep 20 (IANS): Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visits to India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Tajikistan opened a new chapter for China's neighbourhood diplomacy, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the end of the trip late Friday.
The Sep 11-19 tour of central and south Asia also charted a fresh course for the "One Belt and One Road" initiatives (the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road), People's Daily quoted him as saying Saturday.
The minister said that all the four nations Xi visited were pivotal as China shared with them historic ties and interwoven interests. "All of them hope to ride on the fast train of China's development to fulfill their own dreams," Wang said.
He added that the nine-day tour, which made headlines in the world's leading news outlets, had a far-reaching influence on guiding the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)'s development.
Founded in Shanghai in 2001, the SCO has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its members.
Earlier this month, India had formally applied for a full membership in the energy-rich SCO, which is dominated by China. India has been functioning as an observer in the security grouping.
In a joint statement Friday, Xi said that Beijing supported "India's aspiration for a bigger role" in the UN Security Council (UNSC) and was willing to support its full membership in the SCO and in return, expected India to help it in building relations in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Xi's proposals were based on a careful study of global and regional situation, and were both future-oriented and pragmatic, according to Wang.
China and India, as the world's two largest developing countries and emerging economies, enjoy a longtime friendship and are in a historic process of national rejuvenation, Wang said, adding that both have become important powers during the world's multi-polarisation process.
President Xi's visit propelled the development of China-India ties into a new historic phase, he said.
"Chinese and Indian leaders decided to carry forward their friendship from both historic depths and comprehensive perspectives, and keep reciprocal cooperation as the constant theme of China-India relations," the daily quoted him as saying.
On China's active neighbourhood diplomacy, Wang said China could not develop without a peaceful, stable and cooperative environment, and that China's development had brought significant cooperation opportunities for neighbouring countries.
China signed more than 60 cooperative documents with the four countries during Xi's visit, Wang listed, adding that the countries have pledged active participation in constructing the "belt" and the "road", he said.
Xi has visited 13 countries in Asia since he took office more than a year ago.