China and India must dance together towards success, says Chinese envoy

New Delhi: China's Ambassador to India Lou Zhahui has stressed on 'reconciliation' after the Doklam standoff and said both nations should extend the hand of 'cooperation' and 'make one plus one eleven'.

"We (India and China) should dance together," Lou said, suggesting that both sides should start a new chapter to usher in mutual growth through cooperation.

"We should turn the old page and start a new chapter with the same pace and same direction," he said here on Friday on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

He said that President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent a clear message of "reconciliation" and "cooperation" when they met for BRICS.

His comments come in the backdrop of the disengagement of Chinese and Indian troops in Doklam, where the armies of the two nations were locked in a standoff for over two months.

The envoy's wife, Counselor Jiang Yili, who did her PhD from Delhi University, staged a music and dance performance at the event along with cultural troupes from both the countries.

Calling India as his "second home", Zhaohui stressed the need to ramp up cultural and people-to-people ties. He said he would revive the embassy's engagement with the friendship association, which was very robust at one point.

"They (non-government forums) can do what two governments cannot. In the future days, the embassy can co-host functions with the association," he said.

Doklam lies in Bhutanese territory but is also claimed by China.

The India-China face-off started when Bhutanese troops noticed Chinese soldiers building a road in the area.

When they were unable to push them back, they asked Indian troops for help.