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Narendra Modi-Xi Jinping meeting at Mamallapuram Latest Updates: Briefing the media after the informal summit between India and China, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said, “China is ready to take sincere action to address India’s concerns on trade deficit. The Chinese side also proposed that a high-level trade discussion channel be set up to address these specific concerns.” He said, “from the Chinese side Vice President of China will engage with Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.” Chinese president Xi Jinping has left from Taj Fisermen’s Cove after holding talks with the Indian prime minister. He will leave for Nepal around 2.00 PM Chinese president Xi Jinping thanked India for its warm hospitality. He said that, “I am overwhelmed by your hospital. China and India important neighbours and we are the two biggest economies. I look forward to furthering discussions on bilateral ties with you.” Beginning the second day of the India- China informal summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at Kovalam beach. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Mamallapuram right now for an informal summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping, released a video of his morning walk ritual on his Twitter profile, only that the prime minister could be seen cleaning the beach alongside. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping took a tour of ancient era monuments in Tamil Nadu’s Mamallapuram on Friday in their second informal meet after the Wuhan Summit in April 2018. Dressed in a traditional veshti, angavastram and shirt, Modi strolled with Xi through the UNESCO world heritage sites of Arjuna’s Penance, Krishna’s Butterball, Pancha Ratha and Shore temple. The prime minister explained to the Chinese leader the historical significance of the seventh-century monuments built during the Pallava dynasty in this coastal town which had historical links with China’s Fujian province. Modi and Xi sat down for a brief conversation at the Pancha Ratha complex, comprising monolithic rock sculptures that remain unfinished and have been named after the five Pandavas and their wife Draupadi. [caption id=“attachment_7486371” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Mamallapuram. PTI[/caption] They then visited the elaborately lit Shore Temple, where the two leaders met top delegates of both sides. Xi met Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. A cultural performance put together by the faculty members, students and alumni of the Kalakshetra Foundation was attended by Modi and the Chinese president at the Shore Temple. The performances included the classical dances Bharatnatyam and Kathakali. A traditional south Indian spread, including the trademark sambhar, was part of the dinner menu. The meal included ’thakkali rasam,’ made of tomato and tamarind and ‘kadalai (chick pea, generally) korma’, besides halwa as the dessert. The two leaders concluded the meet around 10 pm. While Modi flew to Mamallapuram in a chopper, Xi travelled by road from Chennai in a specially flown-in Hongqi, a luxury Chinese car used by leaders of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) from the time of its founder Mao Zedong. In Chinese, hongqi means the red flag. Both leaders were received at the Chennai airport by Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam. To welcome Xi at the Chennai airport, about 500 Tamil folk artistes rendered performances, including “tappattam,” and “poi kal kuthirai” while a group of colourfully dressed women presented a Bharatanatyam programme to the accompaniment of ’thavil’ and ’nadaswaram’ (traditional percussion and wind instruments respectively) music. Modi and Xi Jinping spent nearly five hours together, most of it being one-on-one time, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said in a press briefing. He said that the dinner meeting stretched on for about 150 minutes, which was far beyond the planned time, during which detailed discussions on the countries’ national visions took place. “The Chinese president said that he was looking forward to working closely with Prime Minister Modi in the next 4-4.5 years. Discussions on trade and economy, areas of investment to be encouraged, trade deficit and enhancing trade volume and value took place,” Gokhale said. He added that Modi and Xi also talked about the challenges faced by the India and China on account of terrorism, while being on the sme page about radicalism being a matter of concern. “Both leaders agreed that they will work towards ensuring that radicalism does not impact the fabric of our multi-cultural, multi0ethnic and multi-religious societies,” Gokhale said. International and regional issues, with focus on bilateral relations, would be the focus of meetings on the second day of the Mamallapuram summit. Xi visited the ITC Grand Chola in Chennai before making way to Mamallapuram. Security remained tightened in the shore town and Chennai. “Welcome to India, President Xi Jinping!” Modi tweeted, shortly after the Chinese leader arrived on an Air China Boeing 747 aircraft, accompanied by a 90-member delegation including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Polit Bureau member of Central Committee of Chinese Communist Party Ding Xuexiang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi. While Modi will be staying on Friday night at the Taj Fisherman’s Cove resort in Kovalam, the Chinese president will stay at ITC Grand Chola. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Ravesh Kumar tweeted:
The free flowing nature of the Informal Summit at the UNESCO World Heritage site will continue and deepen contacts at the highest level and guide the future trajectory of India-China relationship.
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 11, 2019
On Saturday, Modi and Xi will have a comprehensive one-on-one meeting to be followed by delegation level talks. Modi will also be hosting a lunch for the Chinese president. Both sides will, then, issue separate statements on outcome of the summit. “Both sides know that a lot is riding on the relationship and this is reflected in the summit being held on schedule despite speculation of its postponement in recent weeks,” said a senior official told PTI. Xi’s visit to India raised questions about the strained ties between India and China owing to the latter’s hardline approach towards the Kashmir issue. It is, however, being said that the leaders’ talks will be focussing on trade ties. Xi’s visit comes two days after Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s Beijing visit, where the Kashmir issue was discussed. A China-Pakistan joint statement issued after talks said China is paying “close attention” to the situation in Kashmir, calling for its proper and peaceful resolution based on the United Nations Charter. The first informal between the two leaders was held in Chinese lake city of Wuhan in April 2018, months after a 73-day face-off between the armies of the two countries in Doka La tri-junction raised fears of a war between the two Asian giants.
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