Language important in Sino-China relation: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Beijing

Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, left, poses with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi prior to a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing Sunday, April 22, 2018. (PTI Photo)

BEIJING: Asserting the importance of language in Sino-India relationship, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday said it's important for both the neighbour nations to learn each other's language.

“It is very important for us to know the languages of each other,” said Swaraj, while speaking at the 'Contribution of Hindi in the Friendship of India & China' event in Beijing.

The Union minister arrived in China on Sunday on a four-day visit to take part in the foreign ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Highlighting the importance of students in India-China relationship, the minister added, “The way our relations are strengthening today, it has become all the more important for Chinese students to learn Hindi and Indian students to learn Mandarin, so that you do not face language barriers when you go to India or they come down to China.”

“Even two foreign ministers cannot make the friendship of our countries more stronger, than the students of China, who love the Hindi language,” she said.

Swaraj went on to speak about the popularity of Indian movies in China.

“Indian films are becoming increasingly popular in China. I was talking to Foreign Minister Wang Yi yesterday, he mentioned that Dangal, Secret Superstar and Hindi Medium are very popular here. 

On Sunday, Swaraj held crucial talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to reset the Indi-China relations after last year's Dokalam standoff.

Maintaining peace in the border areas with China was an "essential pre-requisite" for the smooth development of bilateral ties she said. 

"China and India are two major countries with global influence. It falls to both countries to jointly uphold the UN-centered multilateral system, to jointly preserve the WTO-centred international trading rules and to joint tackle terrorism, climate change and a host of other global challenges," Wang said. 

Swaraj and Wang met in the immediate backdrop of the recent meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and top official of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) Yang Jiechi in Shanghai.

With agency inputs