Ahmedabad, June 23: Defence Minister George Fernandes today said the past unsavoury experiences of tensions and misunderstandings with China must be left behind and there was a need to advance in the direction of friendship initiated between the two countries. "There have been tensions and misunderstandings between India and China. But now with friendship being initiated, we must surge ahead in that direction", Fernandes told newsmen here when asked about his address to the convention of Samata Party workers here.

"I told them that whatever has happened in the past must be buried and it is no use brooding over it", Fernandes said, adding, "it is important to advance in the direction of friendship." Referring to his visit to China recently, the defence minister said, "The Chinese PM told me that in relations with India, which date back to 2200 years, there has been 99.99 per cent friendship and only 0.01 per cent misunderstanding. Now we should bury that 0.01 per cent."

He said even China wanted peace and tranquility in order to overcome some of the problems like widespread unemployment and regional imbalances and emerge as the biggest global economic power by 2020. Bureau Report