Next "Informal" Meet In India, PM Invites China's Xi Jinping: 10 Facts


New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to China, has met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan, the capital of the Chinese province of Hubei. On the first day of his visit, PM Modi was welcomed by President Xi with an impressive cultural performance at the Hubei provincial museum. Only two interpreters were present at the first informal meeting between the two leaders. President Xi took PM Modi on a tour of the museum, after which delegation level talks were held with six representatives from each side.

Here are the top 10 developments:

1. Seeking to make the informal summit an annual affair, PM Modi said he would be happy to host President Xi for another such round of talks in India next year.

2. In his remarks at the delegation-level talks, PM Modi emphasised the global leadership role the "two major powers" India and China could play.

3. "In the last 1600 years, the economies of India and China have contributed about 50 per cent of the global economy," said PM Modi. President Xi stressed that both nations need to work together to add global stability.

4. PM Modi proposed a five point agenda for bilateral ties - common vision, better communication, strong relationship, shared thought process and a shared resolve.

5. On Saturday, both leaders are expected to spend more time together in one-on-one talks with just interpreters accompanying them.

6. PM Modi and President Xi will walk along the banks of the East Lake and take a ride on a boat together in an effort to try and cement the strong chemistry they had developed in earlier summit meetings.

7. There may not be any joint statement at the end of the talks and neither side wants to be bogged down by outstanding issues which remain a thorn in equations between the two nations. 

8. The visit comes months after a standoff involving Indian and Chinese forces at Doklam when the two armies stood eyeball-to-eyeball for 72 days in the high altitude area claimed by Bhutan but occupied by China. 

9. India has concerns about its sovereignty being affected by the China Pakistan Economic Corridor that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Beijing has also blocked India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group and has avoided declaring Hafiz Saeed a globally designated terrorist.

10. "We will also review the developments in the India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective," PM Modi had said before leaving for China.


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