China hopes to further increase exchanges between the legislative bodies of China and India, as a consolidated Sino-Indian friendship and its further development are of great significance to both the economic development of the two countries and the stability of the region, China's top legislator Li Peng said Thursday.

Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, made the remark during his meeting here with Gandhi Balayogi, speaker of the Lok Sabha, or the House of the People. The two leaders are here attending the millennium summit of the national parliaments, which began at the United Nations headquarters on Wednesday.

Li said that he hoped to push forward the development of bilateral relations and cooperation in every possible field by increasing exchanges between the legislative bodies of the two countries.

He also noted that the five principles of peaceful coexistence proposed by Chinese and Indian leaders decades ago continue to be important guidelines in the development of international relations today.

Balayogi agreed with Li that India and China share identical views on many issues, such as multi-polarization of the world. Regardless of the size of countries, they are all equal members of the international community, and share such principles as mutual respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and non-interference of internal affairs in other countries. He hoped parliamentary cooperation between the two countries would become an important component of overall bilateral ties.

Li also said he noted that in her opening speech at the millennium summit of the presiding officers of the national parliaments Wednesday morning, Najma Heptulla, who is the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha of India -- the Upper House of Parliament -- and the president of the Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and chairwoman of the millennium parliamentary summit, reflected China's views, which were drafted in the final declaration of the parliamentary summit.

"We rededicate ourselves to the ideals enshrined in the UN Charter, adopted some 55 years ago, and to work together to address the main challenges facing the world community. These are achievements of international peace and security, democracy and respect of human rights without compromising sovereignty and equality and without interfering into internal affairs of member states and allowing each country to choose its own path of development," she said in her speech on Wednesday.

(People's Daily 09/01/2000)