China, India set to sign a series of deals: FM

BEIJING - China and India will sign a series of bilateral agreements during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to China, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Friday.

In response to a question at a daily news briefing concerning the consultation between China and India to simplify visa procedures, spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, China welcomed the relaxation of visa restrictions as it will make the people-to-people exchange more convenient and benefit trade and economic cooperation between two sides.

Singh will pay an official visit to China from October 22 to 24 as guest of his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang.

In May, Li visited India, where he and Singh reached broad consensus to further develop China-India relations.

"We are willing to work together with India to strengthen political mutual trust, deepen pragmatic cooperation, enhance communication and coordination on major international and regional issues to push forward bilateral strategic partnership," Hua said.