China voiced its high expectations for Premier Wen Jiabao's upcoming visit to India Monday, saying the visit will be a "significant event" that boosts bilateral relations.

"China-India relations are significant. The leaders of both nations agree the world has sufficient space for the two emerging economies to grow," Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue said in Beijing Monday.

Hu made the remarks at a press briefing concerning Wen's December 15-17 visit to India.

Wen is making the visit at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

During the visit, Wen will meet with Indian President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Singh and India's ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi.

Wen will also attend activities marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-India diplomatic ties.

Hu expressed hope Wen's visit will boost political mutual trust and understanding while cementing bilateral cooperation in economics and trade.

The two sides are working to increase governmental cooperation to strengthen coordination concerning international and regional issues, Hu added.

China and India have maintained high-level exchange in recent years while also cooperating in multilateral frameworks like the G20 and BRIC (Brazil, Russian, India, China), Hu said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen have met with Prime Minister Singh on 10 occasions in 2010 alone," Hu added.

According to Hu, border issues will be discussed during the visit.

China and India concluded the 14th round of border talks on Nov. 30 with a joint call to "seek a fair and reasonable solution acceptable to both sides."

China and India share a 2,000-km-long border that has never been formally demarcated. The two countries began to discuss border issues in the 1980s.

To maintain peace and stability in the border area, the two sides signed agreements in 1993 and 1996.

In 2005, when Premier Wen was on a visit to India, the two countries signed political guidelines on border demarcation.

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