Taking their bilateral relations to a new level, India and China on Wednesday signed an agreement to establish a hotline between Prime Ministers of the two countries.

The agreement was signed by external affairs Minister S M Krishna and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi after their first round of talks here.

This is the first time in recent years that India has established a dedicated hotline facility with any country.

Under the agreement, dedicated phone lines will be set up in the Prime Minister's office of the two countries.

This would enable Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao to hold direct conversations whenever they want.

The decision to establish the hotline was reached during a meeting between Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in June last year.