On July 13, 2009, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met with outgoing Indian Ambassador to China Nirupama Rao, also Indian Foreign Secretary designate.

    Yang appreciated the important contributions that Rao had made to advancing China-India relations since she took office as ambassador to China and congratulated her on the promotion to the post of Foreign Secretary. Yang hoped Rao could make more efforts on her new post to strengthen the friendship of the two countries. Yang said that with the joint efforts of both sides, China-India relations have shown a sound momentum of all-round development. China would like to work with India to intensify exchanges, strengthen mutual trust and expand pragmatic cooperation, in a bid to push forward bilateral ties, said Yang.

    Rao thanked for the support and encouragement that the Chinese Foreign Ministry has offered to her during her term in China, adding that the advancement of India-China relations would be an important part of her future work. The development of the India-China strategic and cooperative partnership oriented towards peace and prosperity would benefit both countries and peoples and make an essential contribution to regional and world peace and development, she added.