China on Tuesday said the passing of former President Pranab Mukherjee was “a heavy loss for China-India friendship”.
Also read: Former President Pranab Mukherjee cremated with full state honours
“Former President Mukherjee was a veteran statesman of India,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in Beijing. “In his 50 years in politics, he made positive contributions to China-India relations. In 2014, he received President Xi [in India] and the two sides issued a joint statement on building a closer development partnership. It is a heavy loss for China-India friendship and to India. We express deep condolences over his passing and extend sincere sympathies to the Indian government and to his family.”
The Indian Embassy in Beijing on Tuesday shared on Twitter photographs of the former President’s many engagements with China, from his hosting of President Xi Jinping in India in 2014 to his state visit to China in 2016, when he held talks with Mr. Xi and Premier Li Keqiang and visited a Buddhist temple in Guangzhou.
