Heavy symbolism to Modi’s Xian visit
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi touches down in Xian in northwest China on May 14, it will be in decades that a Chinese President would escort a foreign leader to his ancestors’ home.
To be fair, Xian — or the little town of Fu Ping — is not President Xi Jinping’s hometown; he was born in Beijing and studied here.
Fu Ping, about two hours drive from Xian, the Capital of Shaanxi province and famous for its terracotta warriors, is the ancestral village of Xi’s father, revolutionary and former vicepremier, Xi Zhongxun.
It is very unlikely that Modi will be visiting Fu Ping anyway.
But like many aspects of Chinese diplomacy, here too it will be the symbolism that will count or — at the end of Modi’s three-day China visit — really matter.
It was back in 2000 October that then President Jiang Zemin had taken French President Jacques Chirac to his hometown in Yangzhou in eastern China’s Jiangsu province — directly like in Modi’s case without touching down in Beijing.
With Xi taking Modi to Xian, ( like Xi visiting Ahmedabad before going to New Delhi) it is a bit like history repeating its gestures: Exactly a year before, in 1999, when Jiang was visiting France, Chirac had invited him to his family chateau in south-western France for a lavish dinner.
But, the symbolism of Xian doesn’t end there.
The city is said to be part of the path from where the famous Chinese monk Xuan Zang (known as Hiuen Tsang in India) travelled across India to as far as Gujarat in the 7th century. It is also said to be the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, which Xi is attempting to revive as part of his “Belt and Road” initiative.
Modi himself confirmed his visit on Sina Weibo – China’s cross between Twitter and Facebook – on Tuesday: “Looking forward to visiting China from 14-16 May to strengthen friendship between our two ancient civilizations and the two largest developing countries.”