NEW DELHI — China and India said on Dec 21 that establishing the China-India high-level people-to-people exchanges mechanism is an important measure to develop the all-round bilateral relations between the two countries.

The first meeting of the China-India high-level people-to-people exchanges mechanism was co-chaired in New Delhi by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Addressing the meeting, Wang said the formal launch of the mechanism is an important step taken by the two countries to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, an important measure to push forward the development of all-round bilateral ties between the two countries and an important platform to realize revival of the oriental civilizations.

The mechanism will help in consolidating the public opinion foundation for the development of bilateral ties, promoting the healthy development of bilateral ties, pushing forward the peaceful coexistence among different civilizations and jointly maintaining the world peace and stability, Wang said.

This year marks an extraordinary year for the development of China-India relationship, said Wang. The leaders of the two countries held a landmark meeting in China’s Wuhan in April, and met several times on multilateral occasions, defining the future direction of China-India relations, and leading bilateral cooperation into a new development phase, he said.

Currently China is striving for the realization of its two centenary goals, and India is devoted to building a “New India”, said Wang.

The Chinese side is willing to work with the Indian side to fully coordinate under the people-to-people exchanges mechanism, utilize all kinds of resources, give play to their respective advantages, so as to promote the people-to-people exchanges to gain new development and make new strides, the Chinese top diplomat said.

For her part, Swaraj said that leaders of the two countries agreed in their Wuhan meeting to establish the mechanism for high-level people-to-people exchanges, demonstrating great foresight and vision.

For India and China, two countries with long history and great civilization, the mechanism would provide a new platform for bilateral people-to-people exchanges, adding new impetus to bilateral relations and cooperation, she said.

Swaraj noted that the success of the first meeting of the high-level people-to-people exchanges mechanism pushed the bilateral people-to-people exchanges to a new height and made people-to-people exchanges a stabilizer for bilateral relations.

Wang is on a visit to India to co-chair the first meeting of China-India high-level people-to-people exchanges mechanism with Swaraj.

At the meeting, delegates from the two sides held discussions on a range of issues including culture, media, sports, tourism, traditional medicine and yoga.