Indian Foreign Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna said in Beijing on Tuesday that a strong and stable relationship between India and China has an impact on the entire world.

"As India and China manage their domestic priorities well, it has huge implications for global prosperity," Krishna made the remarks in his speech entitled "India and China in the 21st Century" at the China Institute of International Studies.

The two countries "are raising the living standard of almost one-third of humanity," he said.

In the past two decades, India and China have impacted significantly on global per-capita income, longevity and human development, said Krishna, there is much that can be gained through close cooperation.

Facing challenges of urbanization, resource consumption, food and energy security, China and India can exchange best practices to benefit each other, the foreign minister said.

He said "considerable scope" exists for joint projects in a huge infrastructure demand in India, covering sectors like power, roads, rail and telecommunication. On the Chinese side, the outsourcing of IT by state enterprises has only started recently. There is a potential waiting to be tapped, which would happen only by connecting Chinese users to Indian providers.

As a reshaping of the global architecture is underway, evident in new groupings like the G20, BRIC, BASIC and the East Asia Summit, Krishna said as developing societies, India-China convergence is manifest on issues like climate change and global trade rules.

"We have to accept that there will be outstanding issues between the two countries even as our relationship forges ahead. The true test of our maturity is how well we handle our problems," said Krishna.

A number of dialogues and forums already exist between India and China where both sides discuss bilateral, regional and global political issues, including boundary question, trade matters and water management.

"Regular meetings lead to better communication, more understanding and confidence," said Krishna, encouraging an "intensive and sustained engagement" between the two systems.

As to media speculation that India and China have a "competitive" relationship, Krishna said it is up to the two countries to disprove such scenarios by "concrete examples of cooperation".

As this year celebrates the 60th anniversary of China-India diplomatic ties, Krishna told a reception later Tuesday that his country would take the opportunity to renew cooperation, engagement and understanding between the two peoples.

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