Heavy Loss For India-China Friendship: Beijing on Pranab Mukherjee

The spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry Hua Chunying said Pranab Mukherjee was a great statesman.

Former President of India Pranab Mukherjee and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

(Image courtesy: PTI)

China on Tuesday, 1 September, expressed condolences at the passing away of former President of India Pranab Mukherjee and said that his death is a “heavy loss for China-India friendship.”

The veteran Indian politician died of a cardiac arrest on Monday in a hospital in New Delhi following a 21-day battle with multiple ailments.

While addressing the media in Beijing on 1 September, the spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry Hua Chunying spoke on his demise. “Former President Mukherjee was a veteran statesman of India. In his 50 years in politics, he made positive contributions to China-India relations. It is a heavy loss to China-India friendship and to India. We express condolences over his death and extend our sympathies,” she said.

Hua Chunying also spoke about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India in 2014 and his meeting with Mukherjee, and said that after the meeting the two countries had issued a joint statement on building a closer partnership.

Pranab Mukherjee visited China in 2016 and in a series of meetings with the Chinese leadership and the business community had sought greater market access in China for Indian businesses, reported Hindustan Times.

(With inputs from PTI and Hindustan Times)