Chinese President Xi Jinping and PM Modi met in India's coastal town of Mamallapuram earlier this year

Beijing: The second informal summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India's coastal town of Mamallapuram earlier this year charted the course for the steady growth of relations between New Delhi and Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday.

Wang's statement came during an interview with People's Daily when he was asked about China's achievement in neighbourhood diplomacy this year.

"We have improved and developed relations with our neighbours in an all-round way. President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a successful second summit in Chennai and charted the course for the steady growth of China-India relations," Wang said during the interview, the transcript of which was released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

PM Modi and Xi Jinping had an in-depth exchange of views in a friendly atmosphere on overarching, long-term and strategic issues of global and regional importance during the two-day informal meet in Mamallapuram, a coastal town near Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai.

During the summit, the two leaders had agreed that the 70th anniversary of the establishment of India-China relations in 2020 will be fully utilised to deepen exchanges at all levels, including between the two countries' legislatures, political parties, cultural and youth organisations, and militaries.