Thursday, March 17 2005 14:58 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Beijing: China, which is warily viewing the India-US Defence cooperation, today (Mar 17, 2005) cautiously welcomed the visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to New Delhi and Islamabad.

"We welcome US cooperation with South Asian countries, including India and Pakistan," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.

"We hope relevant arrangements and cooperation will be conducive to regional stability," Liu told reporters when asked to comment on the topics discussed by Rice to New Delhi and Islamabad, including Defence cooperation.

Rice is due to visit Beijing on Sunday (Mar 20, 2005) as part of her visit to Asia, where she is due to have high-level meetings with the top Chinese leadership on bilateral ties, especially the Taiwan issue as well as the North Korean nuclear issue.