Beijing/Mahabalipuram, Oct 12 (IANS): Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have agreed to promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations to achieve joint development and prosperity during their second informal summit in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, a Xinhua report said.
Xi and Modi held their second informal meeting in te picturesque Southern Indian town following their first in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in April 2018.
During Xi's trip from his hotel in Chennai to Mahabalipuram, people from all walks of life lined the streets waving Chinese and Indian national flags, with young men and women in Indian traditional costumes singing and dancing, to welcome the Chinese President for his visit.
Xi recalled his successful meeting with Modi in Wuhan last year, which brought China-India relations into a new stage, and said that he was delighted to visit the state of Tamil Nadu to further learn about the country.
The two leaders held an extensive talk during the tour of the Mahabalipuram monuments "on dialogue and mutual learning among civilizations".
Tamil Nadu, a maritime transit hub for cargoes in the ancient Silk Road, has a long history of exchanges with China and close connections with Beijing on maritime trade since ancient times, Xi said.
Both ancient civilizations with several thousand years of history, China and India have carried on their exchanges and mutual learning till this day, Xinhua news agency quoted the Chinese President as saying.
The two countries' ancestors have overcome various obstacles to carry out extensive exchanges and promote the development of literature, art, philosophy and religion, which have greatly benefited both sides, Xi said.
Noting that China-India cultural and people-to-people exchanges bear great potential, Xi urged both countries to take the 70th anniversary of China-India diplomatic relations next year as an opportunity to conduct broader and deeper cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
He also called on the two countries to jointly advocate and push forward dialogue and exchanges among different civilizations, so as to inject more lasting driving force into the development of bilateral ties and continue to produce new glory for Asian civilizations.
The two leaders agreed that China and India should respect and learn from each other so as to jointly achieve common development and prosperity, as well as the great rejuvenation of the two civilizations, Xinhua added.