Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday rolled out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in his home town, as Xi began a maiden visit with both sides seeking to reset the relationship between Asia’s rival superpowers.
Modi has pulled out all the stops for Xi’s arrival, organizing an intimate riverside dinner in Ahmedabad, the main city in his home state of Gujarat, where giant billboards in Chinese, Gujarati and English have been put up to welcome him.
With both sides eager to emphasize cooperation over competition, Xi said in an article published yesterday that “the world’s factory and the world’s back office” made a winning combination, welcoming Indian businesses to China and pledging much-needed funding for infrastructure development.
Photo: Reuters
Despite his hardline nationalist reputation, Modi moved quickly to engage with China after winning office this year on a campaign promise to revive India’s flagging economy, which experts say has been held back by weak infrastructure.
However, Modi has also made clear he sees China as a competitor and intends to pursue a more muscular foreign policy than the previous Congress party government.
During his election campaign, he said that China would have to shed what he called its “expansionist mindset,” although he also spoke of his admiration for China’s economic success.
Border issues are on the agenda for Xi’s visit, but both sides say they want to focus on economic cooperation, with India seeking Chinese funding for an overhaul of its dilapidated railways and cooperation in nuclear energy.
“China-India relations have become one of the most dynamic and promising bilateral relations in the 21st century,” wrote Xi in the article in the Hindu daily.
China is India’s biggest trading partner, with annual two-way commerce of more than US$65 billion, but Indian data shows the trade deficit with China has soared to more than US$40 billion from just US$1 billion in 2001 and 2002.
Experts said China would seek to allay Indian concerns over the widening deficit as it tries to cement its relationship with its western neighbor at a time of heightened tensions with Japan and several Southeast Asian nations over disputed sea territory.
Xi arrived in India after visiting the Maldives and Sri Lanka, having launched the construction of a US$1.4 billion port city in Sri Lanka’s capital, a strong reminder of Beijing’s growing foothold in the Indian Ocean region.
Colombo has sought to allay Indian fears by insisting its relations with Beijing are based on commercial rather than security considerations.
However, some in New Delhi still fear China’s growing engagement in the region is a deliberate strategy to encircle India.
Xi will on hold formal talks today with Modi and Indian President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi and sign a series of agreements expected to include nuclear cooperation and new Chinese-funded industrial parks.
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