NEW DELHI: India’s consul general in Shanghai Pratik Mathur on Wednesday met Shanghai Mayor Zhu Zhongming and conveyed New Delhi’s greetings ahead of the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.The consulate general of India in Shanghai shared images of celebrations marking Guo Qing Jie, or National Day, in Shanghai in a post on X.“Consul General Shri Pratik Mathur conveyed our best wishes to Shanghai Mayor HE Zhu Zhongming on Guo Qing Jie, the 77th anniversary of the founding of the PRC,” the consulate said.Zhu is among the first leaders born in the 1970s to serve as Shanghai mayor, a position held by several Chinese leaders who later rose to the Politburo. Previous Shanghai mayors include Jiang Zemin, Zhu Rongji and current Chinese Vice President Han Zheng.Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang have also previously served as Shanghai Party secretaries.October 1 marks the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, proclaimed by Mao Zedong in 1949.The outreach comes as India and China seek to advance bilateral ties following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi earlier this month.MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a media briefing on Tuesday that the two leaders had discussed bilateral ties and provided guidance on taking the relationship forward.“On the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, we had a leaders-level meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi, where the two leaders have given guidance on this relationship, and now we are taking that forward,” Jaiswal said.

During the meeting, Modi also raised India’s concerns with Xi and stressed the need for both sides to remain sensitive to each other’s core concerns.Jaiswal had earlier said Modi underlined that both sides should be guided by the “three mutuals” – mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity.India has maintained that the bilateral relationship should be anchored in these three principles.