The colours and cultures of two of Asias most powerful and populous nations merged in a spirit of diplomatic synergy at the spectacular closing ceremony of the festival of China in India here Thursday that was attended by visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The ceremony at Delhis Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was the culmination of a series of cultural events and activities held to mark 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and China and was also attended by a high-level ministerial delegation from China.
Addressing the packed gathering of 500 guests, mostly Chinese delegates and school children from the capital, Manmohan Singh said: "India and China have played a crucial role in increasing awareness about each others cultures and civilisation. India and China are two great civilisations that have flourished for thousands of years. The art and the culture and the unyielding quest for progress and development over the last six decades have been the cornerstone of India and Chinas foreign policy."
"India-China cooperation will be the keystone of the Asian century that is unfolding before us," he added.
"In the development of this century, India and China will mark it as friends, not as rivals," he said, adding: "There is enough space in the world for both India and China to grow and fulfil development aspirations of their respective people."
He said that both countries should work towards bridging the "information gap" between the two nations.
"We must close the information gap between us and learn about each others achievement, directly rather than through third countries," he said.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also called for "heart-to-heart" exchanges between the two populous nations. He designated 2011 as the year of exchange between India and China.
The nine-month long festival of China opened in April 2010 at the Purana Qila with a religious concert Harmony of the Divine Land: A Symphony of Chinese Buddhist Music by a 160-member Buddhist orchestra.
The reciprocal festival of India in China began in May.
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