Modi, Xi to have free discussions at Wuhan

BEIJING: MODI WILL DIRECTLY FLY TO WUHAN IN CHINA’S HUBEI PROVINCE ON THE EVENING OF APRIL 26 AND MEET XI SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE NEXT TWO DAYS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will have free-flowing discussions on a wide range of topics in their several one-on-one meetings during an informal summit in Wuhan later this week, officials said on Tuesday.

There is no formal agenda for the summit, officials said, adding that it will give the two leaders an opportunity to engage freely. The discussions have not been planned in a structured way and the two leaders are not expected to compare notes and tick off specific issues, they added.

Modi will directly fly to the city of Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on the evening of April 26 and meet Xi several times over the next two days.

Most of the meetings will strictly be between the two leaders – along with interpreters – as they take stock of the broad aspects of bilateral, regional and international issues, officials said. Specific issues such as the impasse over India’s entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group or Beijing repeatedly blocking Pakistan-based terror suspect Masood Azhar from being proscribed at the United Nations are unlikely to be discussed. HT first reported on March 17 that Modi and Xi would meet informally in China.

The idea of the summit germinated during a meeting of the two leaders at the BRICS summit held in the city of Xiamen in south China last September. That meeting had come days after the militaries of the two countries disengaged following the long standoff at Doklam.