The Communist Party of China on Sunday described outgoing West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu as 'a friend of China' and hailed his role in promoting Sino-Indian relations. “Jyoti Basu is an old friend of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese people,” a spokesperson of the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPC said. “Basu has done a lot for the promotion of friendship between our two countries and two parties,” she told PTI. However, the spokesperson declined to comment on Basu's resignation from the post of chief minister after 23 years in office, saying, “This is an internal affair of the West Bengal government. Basu last visited China in 1991 as a guest of the CPC and made a brief stopover in Beijing in 1994.
Bureau Report