Visiting Indian President Pratibha Patil and Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping Friday in Beijing attended a reception to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral ties.

In a speech at the reception, Xi said China-India relations had gone beyond their bilateral scope to have global significance as the Asian neighbors both emerged as major players in the developing world.

"A review of China-India relations over the past 60 years tells us that good-neighborly friendship and mutual beneficial cooperation has always been the mainstream of our relationship," Xi said.

He called on both sides to further increase understanding and trust, enhance strategic cooperation and promote sustainable development of bilateral ties.

China and India should be partners rather than rivals because the two countries face similar challenges while having common interests on broad issues, he told some 400 delegates from both countries.

Patil said India-China relationship was a time-tested friendship based on frequent cultural and religious exchange between the two countries over the past centuries.

She said China's development in many areas was impressive and India would like to learn from China's experience.

"Our common interests and shared concerns provide the basis for working together," she said, vowing to further boost India-China cooperation and facilitate greater growth of bilateral relations.

China and India forged diplomatic relations on April 1, 1950, less than one year after the People's Republic of China was founded, which Xi said had opened a new chapter in the history of China-India relations.

Earlier on Friday, Patil visited the Forbidden City, the former residence of China's imperial families during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, and the Temple of Heaven, where emperors of the two dynasties offered sacrifices to heaven and prayed for good harvests.

Patil told Xinhua that she was "very happy" to visit the two places of historical interest in Beijing.

"India and China are friends and I want to strengthen our friendship," said Patil. "We wish to live together, work together and prosper together."

Patil's week-long visit will also take her to the India Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo and to central China's city of Luoyang, where she will attend a temple ceremony commemorating the arrival of Buddhism from India 2,000 years ago.