All issues of common concern would be discussed: expert
the th name of President Xi next to big yellow words “hearty welcome” painted on the ground, welcoming him to India, according to a video published by local media.
After Xi landed in Chennai, Modi hosted Xi at the famous world heritage site of the Shore te temple complex in Mamallapuram, an ancient co coastal town in southeastern India, where they h held a meeting.
On Saturday, both leaders will have a one-onon one meeting followed by delegation-level talks, an and the Chinese president will leave for Nepal fr from Chennai, the Mint reported.
Meeting 2.0
Indian analysts pointed out that since it is an in informal summit, no agreements will be signed, n no joint statement issued, and no press conferen ence will be held.
It implies that the two leaders are at ease durin ing informal summits, which means the leaders will get enough space for one-on-one discussi sions to get to know and understand each other b better, said Bali Ram Deepak, director of the C Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
Deepak believes that the informal summit d does not mean that the meeting is directionless. In Instead, it is helpful in establishing the strategi gic communication between the leaders, build co consensus on certain issues and give an overall d direction to the bilateral relations.
During the Wuhan summit, the two leaders agreed that the two countries will continue to maintain strategic communication in various forms and to advance all-round cooperation, strengthen the China-India Closer Developmental Partnership and strengthen dialogue on political issues, security and other areas.
All issues, including bilateral, regional, and gl global issues of common concern would be discussed during the summit, Deepak said, incl cluding counter-terrorism strategies and issues re related to trade and investment, like India’s conce cerns about the trade deficit and India seeking gr greater access in China for its highly competitive pharmaceutical and informational technology products.
Civilizational linkages
Indian scholars believe that the selection of Mamallapuram also reinforces the civilizational li linkages between India and China.
Wuhan has long been renowned as a center fo for the arts and its history dates back 3,500 years. It was the location of the Wuchang Uprising, w which led to the downfall of the Qing Dynasty.
Mamallapuram was a flourishing seaport du during the 6th and 7th centuries under Pallava ki kings who had established cultural, commercial, d defense and, above all, trade ties with China. In th the year 527 AD, Bodhidharma, the third son of a Pallava king, reached China and became the 2 28th Patriarch of Buddhism.
By showcasing this historic site, Modi will re remind Xi that not only is India an ancient civili lization like China, but that both countries were th the foremost economies of the world until 1700, w which then lost their pre-eminence in the world du due to the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the West, said Gautam Bambawale, a former In Indian Ambassador to Bhutan, Pakistan and C China.