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NEW DELHI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- As China and India mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries on Wednesday, the relations between the two sides are now at a new starting point to usher in new opportunities, Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong said.

"We should draw wisdom from our thousands of years of civilizations and explore a way for neighboring and emerging major countries to get along with each other in accordance with 'enhancing mutual trust, focusing on cooperation, managing differences and seeking common development'," the Chinese envoy said in a special article published in Indian newspaper The Hindu on the occasion.

"I believe that China and India have enough foresight and ability to join hands to realize 'Dragon-Elephant Tango', create brilliant future in the next 70 years and write together a new chapter in building a community with a shared future for mankind."

Looking around the world, China and India, as the only two emerging countries with a population of more than 1 billion, shoulder the historical mission of national rejuvenation, play a key role in the process of the collective rise of developing countries, and inject strong momentum into the profound changes unseen in a century, Sun said.

"At this moment, it is particularly important to revisit the original aspiration of establishing the diplomatic relations 70 years ago and carry forward the spirit of good neighborliness and friendship, unity and cooperation."

Looking back at the past 70 years, the China-India relations have moved ahead despite wind and rain and gone through an extraordinary development path, said the Chinese envoy.

After 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated the "hometown diplomacy", held two informal summits in Wuhan and Chennai respectively, carried out strategic communication on overarching, long-term and strategic issues of global and regional importance, and agreed to strengthen the closer partnership for development between the two countries, Sun stressed.

Today's achievements of China-India relations embodied the great efforts of several generations of the two peoples and the two countries can draw some inspirations and experiences from the past, Sun noted.

He said the two sides should adhere to the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries and grasp the general trend of friendly cooperation, expand the momentum of mutually beneficial cooperation, enhance the coordination on international and regional affairs and properly manage differences.