Beijing
New Delhi
The Republic of India

Your Excellency Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,

Upon the arrival of the "Year of Friendship between China and India", I would like to extend, on behalf of the Chinese government and in my own name, my warm congratulations and best wishes to Your Excellency and the Indian government.

Both sides are friendly neighbors and the two peoples enjoy a time-honored history of friendly exchanges. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, bilateral friendly cooperative relations have been developing continuously. In particular in recent years bilateral relations have made remarkable progress. During my visit to your great country in April, 2005, I signed the Joint Statement between China and India jointly with Your Excellency, declaring the establishment of strategic cooperative partnership facing peace and prosperity between both sides and defining the year of 2006 as the "Year of Friendship between China and India". Bilateral relations are faced with an important development opportunity.

To develop long-term and stable friendly cooperative relations of good neighborliness with India is an unswerving policy of the Chinese government. China would like to keep close cooperation with India to expand friendly exchanges, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and continuously enrich the connotation of bilateral strategic cooperative partnership through the activities in celebration of the "Year of Friendship between China and India".

May the friendship between both peoples be long and lasting!

Wen Jiabao

Premier of the State Council

The People's Republic of China