In 2013, the strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India further deepened, with exchanges and cooperation expanded in all sectors. The two countries maintained close coordination and collaboration in regional and international affairs.
The two sides kept frequent high-level exchanges and contact. In March, President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the Fifth BRICS Summit in Durban, South Africa, and Premier Li Keqiang had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Singh. In May, Premier Li Keqiang made India the first stop of his first overseas visit after taking office. In January, State Councilor Dai Bingguo attended the third Meeting of BRICS High Representatives for Security Issues in India. On the sidelines of the meeting, State Councilor Dai had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Singh and presented a letter of CPC Central Committee General Secretary Xi Jinping to Prime Minister Singh. He also had talks with Indian National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon. In June, State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Indian National Security Advisor Menon held the 16th Meeting of the Chinese and Indian Special Representatives on the Boundary Question in Beijing. In October, Indian Prime Minister Singh paid an official visit to China. In May, Indian Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid visited China. In July, Indian Defense Minister A.K. Anthony visited China. In addition, CPPCC Vice Chairman Wang Zhengwei and Deputy Chief of the PLA General Staff Lieutenant General Qi Jianguo, among others, visited India. Indian Defense Secretary Sashi Kant Sharma and General-Secretary Prakash Karat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) visited China. On the sidelines of the fourth Meeting of BRICS High Representatives for Security Issues in Capetown, South Africa, State Councilor Yang Jiechi had a bilateral meeting with Indian National Security Advisor Menon. Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indian Minister of External Affairs Khurshid during the East Asian Foreign Ministers' Meetings, UN General Assembly and China-Russia- India Foreign Ministers Meeting. Vice Foreign Ministers Song Tao and Cheng Guoping met with Indian National Security Adviser Menon and exchanged views on the bilateral relations and other issues, respectively on the margins of the Munich Security Conference and China-Russia-India Senior Security Representatives Meeting on the Afghan Issue in Moscow. In April, Indian Prime Minister Singh sent a letter of condolences to Premier Li Keqiang on the earthquake in Lushan, Sichuan Province. In mid-June, severe floods hit northern India. Premier Li Keqiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent messages of condolences to Indian Prime Minister Singh and Minister of External Affairs Khurshid respectively. The Chinese government provided the Indian government with US$200,000 in disaster relief assistance, and the Red Cross Society of China provided the Indian Red Cross Society with US$50,000 in assistance.
Practical cooperation between the two countries kept expanding. China was India's second largest trading partner, and India China's 12th trading partner. India was an important overseas market of contracted projects for China. By the end of 2013, China had signed a total of US$62.399 billion worth of contracted projects in India and achieved a revenue of US$38.8 billion. During Premier Li Keqiang's visit to India, the two countries jointly proposed to launch a BCIM Economic Corridor, which received a positive response from Bangladesh and Myanmar. In September, the sixth China-India Financial Dialogue was held in Beijing. In December, the first Joint Study Group meeting of the BCIM Economic Corridor was held in Kunming, Yunnan Province, and the four parties signed the Minutes of meeting and the Joint Study Program. China and India also agreed to carry out cooperation in industrial parks, railway and other areas, and explore the potential for a regional trade arrangement.
Defense exchanges of the two countries continued to deepen. In January, Deputy Chief of the PLA General Staff Lieutenant General Qi Jianguo and Indian Defense Secretary Sharma co-chaired the fifth China- India Defense Dialogue in Beijing. Air Force General Xu Qiliang, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, met with Secretary Sharma and his delegation. In March, Deputy Chief of the PLA General Staff Lieutenant General Qi Jianguo paid an official visit to India and had an exchange of views with the Indian side on military-to-military relations. In July, State Councilor and Minister of Defense General Chang Wanquan had talks with the visiting Indian Defense Minister Anthony. The two sides exchanged views on regional security situation and the military relations between the two countries. In August, Chinese Navy hospital ship "Peace Ark" visited the Indian port city of Mumbai. In October, the "Hand-in- Hand 2013" China-India Army Counter-Terrorism Joint Training Exercise was held in Chengdu.
The two foreign ministries maintained close communication and cooperation. They signed the Protocol Between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of External Affairs of the Republic of India on Cooperation in Bilateral Relations, held the fifth Ministerial Strategic Dialogue, the sixth China-India counterterrorism consultation, the first consultation on Central Asian affairs and annual diplomatic officials consultation, and launched the mechanism of mutual visits of their spokespersons. The Indian high-level diplomats delegation and young diplomats delegation paid successful visits to China.
Boundary talks between the two countries were carried forward steadily. The two sides held the 16th Meeting of the Chinese and Indian Special Representatives on the Boundary Question in Beijing, and exchanged views on the implementation of the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, settlement of the boundary question and development of bilateral relations, and regional and international issues of mutual interest. The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China- India Border Affairs held its third and fourth meetings. The two countries also promptly handled the situation when their border troops came to a face-to-face situation in South Tianwendian Valley (Depsang Plains area referred to by the Indian side).
Positive results were achieved in cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. The first China-India Media Forum was jointly held by the Chinese State Council Information Office and the Indian External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi. Minister of the State Council Information Office Cai Mingzhao and Indian Minister of External Affairs Khurshid attended the opening ceremony. The 100-member Chinese and Indian youth delegations exchanged visits for the seventh consecutive year, and were received by Indian Prime Minister Singh and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang respectively. Sister city agreements were signed between Beijing and Delhi, Kunming and Calcutta, and Chengdu and Bangalore, the first ever in history.
The two countries maintained close coordination and collaboration in international affairs. They stayed in close communication in regional and international organizations such as the United Nations, G20, BRICS, BASIC and the China-India-Russia mechanism, worked together to advance the WTO Doha Round, made active efforts to address climate change, terrorism, food and energy security, and safeguarded the common interests of both the two countries and developing countries as a whole.