Beijing and New Delhi should see each other's development as providing opportunities and work closely to facilitate the construction of a regional economic corridor, Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday.

"China and India, both civilizations with long histories and the world's largest developing countries and emerging markets, are natural cooperative partners," Li said in a telephone call with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, who was sworn in to office on Monday.

The telephone conversation was Modi's first with a foreign government leader since taking over as prime minister.