Xi congratulates Modi on poll victory

Beijing willing to ensure bilateral ties advance in right direction, president says

President Xi Jinping has sent congratulations to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the victory of his Bharatiya Janata Party in the India's general elections on Thursday.

In a congratulatory message, Xi pointed out that China and India are important neighbors and are the world's two largest developing countries and emerging economies.

The development of China-India relations is gaining strong momentum in recent years thanks to the joint efforts of the two sides, Xi said, adding that the two countries maintain sound coordination and cooperation on such major issues as promoting world multipolarization and economic globalization, and safeguarding multilateralism.

Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of China-India relations, and is willing to work with Modi to ensure bilateral ties advance in the right direction, enhance political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, and continuously uplift the closer development partnership between the two countries.

The ruling BJP grabbed 303 out of the 525 constituencies in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, as of Friday afternoon, Agence France-Presse reported. During last elections in 2014, Modi's party grabbed 282 seats.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Friday that Beijing attaches great importance to ties with New Delhi, and hopes to work with the new Indian government to deepen political mutual trust, conduct mutually beneficial cooperation and boost a closer development partnership.

The meeting between Xi and Modi in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, last year had pointed the direction for the development of bilateral ties, Lu said.

Bilateral ties have developed greatly since the Wuhan meeting, and cooperation is advancing in various fields and at various levels, the spokesman said.

Modi was meeting with party allies and cabinet members on Friday to tackle challenges facing his second term after a landslide victory. The inauguration date for his administration has not yet been decided.

The Congress party, which is BJP's main rival and is led by Rahul Gandhi, won 52 seats in the elections, barely improving on the historic low 44 it won in 2014, The Associated Press said.

The vote counting of about 600 million ballots cast over six weeks of polling began early on Thursday.

Modi said he dedicates the victory to his countrymen, while addressing thousands of BJP supporters at the party headquarters in capital New Delhi.

"We had sought mandate for a new India," he said. "I bow down before the 1.3 billion countrymen on this occasion. I thank the Election Commission of India and the security personnel for carrying out the entire election process peacefully."

The victory signals that millions of Indians believe Modi's leadership is what the country needs to become a modern, developed and prosperous nation, while raising questions over how he and his party will use such hefty political capital to advance their ideology and development agenda, said Associated Press.

Earlier, Gandhi conceded defeat and also congratulated Modi on the victory. He tweeted that he accepted "the verdict of the people of India". While addressing media persons at his party headquarters in New Delhi, he said the BJP and the Congress have different ideologies and visions.

Chen Yingqun and Wang Qingyun contributed to this story.

(China Daily 05/25/2019 page8)