The Chinese dragon and the Indian elephant should dance, not fight, with each other, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday. The two countries must support each other and avoid distrust as the global situation sees its “biggest change in a century”, Wang said, adding that if Beijing and New Delhi unite, “one plus one will become 11 instead of two”.

Ties between the two countries “continue to grow” despite some difficulties in 2017, PTI quoted Wang as saying on the sidelines of the annual conference of the Communist Party of China. He said India and China must shed mental inhibitions and manage differences with each other.

“China is upholding its rights and legitimate interests and taking care to preserve the relationship with India,” he said. “Chinese and Indian leaders have developed a strategic vision for the future of our relations.”

Mutual trust is the most precious commodity for ties between the two nations, and “not even the Himalayas can stop us”, he said.

Wang added that a “shared understanding” will surpass the differences between the two countries. “Our common interests far outweigh our frictions,” he said. “China is willing and ready to inherit and take forward our traditional friendship and be a friend and partner of Indian people. Let us replace suspicion with trust, manage differences with dialogue and build a future with cooperation.”