Wednesday, April 13 2005 11:45 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Beijing: Observing that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to India has met the desired targets of "promoting trust and widening cooperation" between the two countries, China has said the Sino-Indian border agreement would help find a "fair and reasonable" solution to the historic issue.

Wen's first visit to India as well as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka has met the desired targets of "promoting mutual trust, deepening friendship, widening cooperation and making plans for the future," Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said.

During his visit to India, Wen exchanged views with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the border issue in a frank and cooperative manner resulting in a formal agreement being signed by the two leaders concerning solving the historic issue, Li, who accompanied the Chinese Premier on his visit said.

"Being the first official document on the border issue in more than 20 years, the agreement has laid a foundation for peaceful negotiations and solving the border problems fairly and reasonably in the future," Li was quoted as saying by the Xinhua news agency.

Wen's tour is an important foreign affair for China on South Asia, Li said adding, the visit will have a deep influence on the promotion of all-round friendly cooperation and bring substantial benefits for the people of China and South Asia.

The agreement covered Confidence Building Measures (CBM) along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the nearly 3,400-km ceasefire line within the border area of the two neighbouring countries.