China hails warming India-Pakistan ties

Beijing, April 9 (IANS) China has welcomed Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's trip to India and the improvement in India-Pakistan ties.

"China is glad to see the improvement in India-Pakistan relations through dialogue and cooperation," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Weimin said.

Both India and Pakistan are "important nations" in South Asia and play "important roles" for the region's peace and prosperity, said Liu.

Zardari paid a quick visit to India Sunday, the first visit by a Pakistani president in seven years. He first flew into New Delhi and then went to Ajmer to pray at Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti's shrine.

Zardari met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi and held talks over wide-ranging issues.

Manmohan Singh accepted Zardari's invitation to visit Pakistan.

The Foreign Office comment came a day after a commentary in the state-run Xinhua agency also welcomed Zardari's visit, saying Beijing was happy to witness "continuous improvement" in India-Pakistan ties.

"The two countries' efforts in warming up their ties certainly are welcomed and applauded by the international community including China, which neighbours both nations and maintains significant ties with them," said the commentary authored by Yu Zhixiao.

While in Delhi, Zardari indicated that the India-Chian model could help improve relations between India and Pakistan as well.

His reference was to the soaring trade between Beijing and New Delhi despite their many differences.