Yang holds dinner for Indian FM

Beijing made an unprecedented gesture of friendship yesterday to express the significance it attaches to relations with India - it not only rolled out the red carpet for visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee but also feted the dignitary at the Forbidden City.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi held the dinner for Mukherjee, who has often called him "my younger counterpart" in previous meetings.

The government has seldom used the imperial palace to treat either domestic elites or foreign guests.