China praises Zardari's visit to India

China on Sunday lauded Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to India, saying better ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours will benefit both countries and bring stability in the region.

"Better ties between Pakistan and India, two nuclear- armed heavyweight neighbours on the South Asian subcontinent, will benefit both countries and regional stability," a commentary by state-run Xinhua news agency said.

 "The two countries' efforts in warming up their ties certainly are welcomed and applauded by the international community including China, which neighbours both  nations and maintains significant ties with them," it said.

Noting that Pakistan's decision to phase out major restrictions on Indian imports by the end of the year, it said "better bilateral ties will undoubtedly boost their economies and may help bring down their defence expenditures, bringing tangible benefits to the two countries and peoples".

China and Pakistan have been all-weather friends over the past decades, while both China and India have been members of BRICS, a bloc of five major emerging economies that  also includes Brazil, Russia and South Africa.

"China wants to further boost ties with both countries, and is happy to witness continuous improvement of the Pakistan-India ties," it said.

"Peaceful coexistence between the two countries, which fought three wars after their independence from the British rule in 1947 and engaged in a tit-for-tat nuclear test race in 1998, is indispensable for regional stability, which is vital for regional prosperity and China's modernisation drive," the news agency said.