Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that China and India should be "express trains" driving regional development, as well as "twin anchors" of regional peace.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs in New Delhi, India, Sept. 18, 2014. Xinhua/Yao Dawei]

"When China and India join hands for cooperation, it will benefit not only the two countries but also the entire Asia and the world at large," said Xi when delivering a speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs.

He said China-India relations have gone well beyond the bilateral scope and have assumed broad regional and global significance as they have become two major forces in the world's multi-polarization process and two vibrant forces driving Asian and global economic growth.

China and India should become closer partners for development while jointly pursuing their respective national renewal, Xi said.

"Nothing is more imperative than to deliver a more comfortable, more secure and happier life to the peoples," he said, adding that both China and India should focus on development, share experience and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.

On the regional scale, the two countries should become cooperative partners that lead Asian economic growth and jointly promote prosperity and revitalization of the region, said the president.

To that end, said Xi, China and India should aim to become the "express trains" that drive regional development and work with other countries to push forward regional economic integration and connectivity.