Chinese President to begin India visit from Gujarat

Chinese President Xi Jinping is slated to visit Gujarat on September 17 and would be received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mr. Modi will receive Mr. Xi at the Ahmedabad airport on September 16. Mr. Xi will be hosted at the hotel Hyatt in the city, official sources told The Hindu.

On September 17, which happens to be Mr. Modi’s birthday – two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) will be inked between Gujarat and China.

One will be between the Gujarat government and the province of Guangdong in South China. The other MoU will be signed between the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMU) and the city of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, for knowledge sharing in the areas of governance.

PTI adds from Beijing:

Mr. Xi will visit India, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and the Maldives from next week to bolster the country’s relations with South Asia and Central Asia.

Mr. Xi, also the General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China, will attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and visit four countries later this month, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang announced on Tuesday.

President Xi is scheduled to attend the 14th meeting of the Council of Heads of the SCO member states on Thursday and Friday in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, said Mr. Qin.

After the meeting, Mr. Xi will also pay state visits to Tajikistan, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and India at the invitation of counterparts — Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Pranab Mukherjee, according to Mr. Qin.

Maldives was apparently including in Mr. Xi’s itinerary after the cancellation of his visit to Pakistan due to prevailing political situation there.

The dates for the visits to the subcontinent is yet to be announced.

National Security Advisor Ajith Doval is currently in Beijing holding talks with the Chinese officials to finalise Xi’s programme in India.