Modi’s Day in China today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China has been an ambitious and a fruitful one till now. While back to back talks and discussions have made people inquisitive in both the countries, most Chinese dailies this morning have put Modi’s outing in their country on top priority.

Today seems to be more eventful than yesterday. After his grand reception at the Great Hall of People in the capital city of Beijing, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang settled for formal talks with Modi. The topics of discussion included the controversial border issue as well as Chinese investments in India.

This is the second round of bi-lateral talks Modi is holding with the Chinese leadership during his on-going three-day China trip.

Yesterday, he talked over five hours with Chinese President Xi Jinping during which all the contentious issues including the border issue were discussed. Today's talks were the extension of yesterday's Modi-Xi talks.

As per a news report in The Economic Times, Modi is eyeing deals worth $23.5 billion to be signed as collaboration with Chinese companies. These include a $2.5-billion financing for Bharti Airtel from Chinese lenders, a $3.5-billion venture by the Adani Group as well as big-ticket investments by JSW Steel, GMR and Welspun. With the exception of Bharti, the other companies are likely to sign joint venture agreements with Chinese partners.

In a joint statement with China's Premier Li Keqiang, Modi said, "We are pleased with the progress on the commitments from the Summit last September. This includes cooperation in the Railways, where we have identified specific projects, and the two Chinese industrial parks in Gujarat and Maharashtra."

According to a news report in The Economic Times, China's Premier Li Keqiang said that China and India need to strengthen mutual political trust so that together they can build a fairer and more reasonable international order.

India and China have signed twenty-four key agreements in a wide range of sectors. PM Modi is on a three-day visit to China as the two world's two largest countries by population work to boost economic ties.

The official Twitter handle of the Ministry of External Affairs has shared on Twitter the key agreements signed between India and China. Here’s the list:https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/599062608075890688/photo/1

Modi arrived in Beijing last night from Xi’an. After rounds of meetings, Modi would address the students of Tsinghua university and attend a demonstration of Yoga-Tai Chi, a Chinese variant of the martial art.

Modi’s bucket list for the last day tomorrow includes meeting a number of CEOs of top Chinese companies and open the first Gandhian studies centre at Fudan university and address Indian community in Shanghai after which he will leave for Mongolia.

(Image: Reuters)