Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jeichi yesterday said India and China should work "shoulder-to-shoulder" in bringing about peace in the region and observed that the rise of the two countries was a "good omen " for Asia.

"The rise of China and India is a very good omen for Asia. India and China should work shoulder-to-shoulder with each another in bringing about peace in the region, " Jeichi told reporters here.

Yang, who is to meet External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi later today, said, "Both Mukherjee and I have to do our humble best in strengthening the strategic cooperation between the two countries."

Earlier, the Chinese minister met West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee with a 12-member delegation.

Describing the meeting as "good”, Yang said the issue of Chinese investment in West Bengal was discussed and his country would be interested in investing in infrastructure, electricity, telecom and high- tech areas in the state.

With the state now trying to rejuvenate its industry after making rapid strides in agriculture, "we can increase exchanges to make agriculture more productive," he said.

Cooperation with the state could also be extended in economic and social areas like sports and education, he said while expressing support for the chief minister's view that West Bengal was India's gateway to South and South East Asia.