PM Modi rides Xi’s favourite car during China visit: All about the Hongqi

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Tianjin, China, on August 31 for the SCO Summit, his first trip to China in over seven years, he was chauffeured around in the Hongqi L5, the iconic luxury car preferred by President Xi Jinping himself.

The Hongqi, which translates to “Red Flag” in Mandarin, carries more weight than most vehicles. It has long been tied to China’s national pride, rolled out only for its top leaders and visiting dignitaries.

By offering the “Made-in-China” car to PM Modi now, Beijing has extended a symbolic gesture of respect and a sign of re-evolving bonhomie between the two nations.

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Here’s a closer look at what makes the Hongqi so special, and why it mattered on this visit.

The legacy of the Hongqi

Hongqi’s story goes back to 1958, when the state-owned First Automotive Works (FAW) launched the brand as the official car for Communist Party of China (CPC) elites.

For decades, Hongqi has been a symbol of prestige and authority, reserved for party leaders, heads of state, and visiting dignitaries.

The car has always been exclusive, almost never available to ordinary citizens or private buyers. Its flagship model, the custom-built Hongqi L5, is considered one of the most expensive vehicles ever made in China, carrying a price tag of around $800,000.

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Stretching over 5.5 metres and weighing 3.1 tonnes, the L5 is fitted with a powerful V12 engine, armoured protection, and plush interiors lined with leather, handcrafted wood, and secure communication systems.

During Mao Zedong’s era, Hongqi cars were painstakingly hand-built in small numbers and used almost entirely for political events and ceremonies. But as imported luxury brands entered the Chinese market in the 1980s, the marque gradually slipped into obscurity.

Its revival came in the 2000s, when Beijing began pushing for homegrown products that could stand as symbols of national pride. Xi Jinping, who has positioned himself as China’s most powerful leader since Mao, made Hongqi central to that effort.

In a 2012 speech to Communist Party cadres, Xi said, “It doesn’t look right to sit in a foreign car. Lots of foreign leaders use limousines of their own country, unless there isn’t one.” He argued that Chinese leaders, too, should travel in cars made at home.

Under Xi, the Hongqi became what Cadillac’s “Beast” is to the US president, a state vehicle with both symbolic and practical weight. The first time he showcased Chinese-made cars abroad was during his 2014 state visit to New Zealand, according to the South China Morning Post.

Since then, he has made the L5 his signature ride, even during overseas trips. He even used the luxury limousine during his trip to India in 2019 in Mahabalipuram, where it became a point of curiosity.

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Why this gesture for Modi matters

In diplomacy, it’s often the subtle diplomatic gestures that carry the loudest messages. By placing PM Modi in the Hongqi L5, Beijing made a warm symbolic gesture.

Modi’s trip to Tianjin was his first to China in more than seven years, coming after a long spell of frosty ties triggered by the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes. A bilateral meeting on Sunday between the two sides was seen as a thaw in the strained relationship.

During the meeting, Xi Jinping told PM Modi that it was the need of the hour for the “Dragon and Elephant to come together” and “be friends.”

Modi and Xi  previously held a bilateral on the sidelines of a Brics summit in Russia in October 2024. That meeting, their first formal discussion in five years, paved the way for tensions to be eased in the India-China relationship.

Meanwhile, PM Modi told President Xi that India is committed to advancing its ties with China based on mutual trust, respect, and sensitivity, noting that cooperation between the two countries is linked to the welfare of 2.8 billion people.

The two leaders also welcomed troop disengagement along the border, announced the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra , and agreed to restart direct flights, all moves aimed at signalling a cautious reset.

The meeting comes in the backdrop of New Delhi’s souring ties with the United States as Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports come into effect. China has backed India on Trump’s tariffs, accusing America of being a “bully”.

Which other leaders were given a Hongqi?

Over the years, only a handful of visiting leaders have been chauffeured around in it.

When US President Richard Nixon made his trip to China in the 1970s, it was a Hongqi that carried him and his delegation, marking the car’s significance in Sino-American diplomacy.

Decades later, in 2013, French President François Hollande was also chauffeured in a Hongqi during his state visit, a gesture that echoed the tradition first extended to French leaders back in the 1960s.

With input from agencies