Chinese President XI Jinping began his second informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra modi with a tour on Friday of the temple complex, Dating back to the 8th century in Mamallapuram Tamil Nadu.

Both leaders wore white casual – Prime Minister modi in a white shirt and Veshti (Tamil Nadu version of dhoti worn in the North) with angvastaram slung over his shoulder and XI in a white shirt and black pants-for the 45-minute tour, which began at 5 p.m. The two leaders shook hands and exchanged pleasantries before embarking on a tour of the historic site

To watch and watch Prime Minister modi received the Chinese President XI Jinping in FamilyCare

Earlier, the Chinese President landed a red carpet welcome at Chennai airport for an unscripted summit with modi that India and China are seeking to rebalance ties after strains over the Kashmir issue.

At the temple complex, modi and XI visited three monuments – “Arjuna’s Penance, “”Panch Ratha” and “temple on the shore” – and were mostly on their own, except for their translators and an expert from the Archaeological survey of India, designed to explain the details of the world heritage Site.

The trip to the temple complex was the best first opportunity for informal interaction between the two leaders, who are expected to spend a total of six hours together over Friday and Saturday. They spent about 45 minutes in the temple complex and watched a 20-minute cultural program of the Kalakshetra Foundation consisting of Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi dances.

This will be followed by a private dinner hosted by modi in a large tent at the Shor temple complex. Both leaders will share a private table, accompanied only by interpreters, while their eight-member delegations will be at other tables. The people quoted above said the menu would largely consist of local cuisine, including vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

The people said both sides are looking to the summit to produce “some new directions from above” that will build on the strategic guidance that flows from the Wuhan summit.

“Both leaders love the unstructured format of the informal summit, and both sides know there are a lot of people in this relationship,” said the official, who did not want to be named.

Despite recent disagreements between the two sides, the people said common relations had matured and developed since Wuhan, and this was reflected in the decision to hold the summit as planned, despite speculation about its fate in recent weeks.

This edition of the summit has been planned since June, but it comes amid a testy exchange between the two countries over Kashmir and China’s support for Pakistan.

XI Jinping’s meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan did not go unnoticed, not after the Chinese leader said Beijing was closely monitoring the situation in Kashmir and would support Pakistan in protecting its core interests. The remark drew a loud and official rebuttal from new Delhi, which reminded Beijing that the events in Kashmir are an internal affair of India and that it does not expect other countries to comment on internal Affairs.

Earlier, XI was received on arrival in Chennai by Governor Banwarilal Purohit, chief Minister EK Palanisami and Deputy chief Minister O Pannerselvam.

Modi, who had arrived in Tamil Nadu a few hours earlier, boarded a helicopter at Mamallapuram, just over 15km from Chennai, and received a visiting dignitary around 17: 00. Modi tweeted his welcome in three languages: English, Tamil and Chinese: “This he got at a dignitary’s party around 17: 00. Modi tweeted his welcome in three languages: English, Tamil and Chinese: “It is a pleasure that Tamil Nadu will host President XI Jinping. May this informal summit further strengthen ties between India and China.”

From the airport, XI drove straight to the ITC hotel in Chennai before heading to the coastal city of Mamallapuram, which officials say was personally chosen by modi as the meeting place as it showcases India’s ancient culture and heritage and ties to China’s Fujian province.

The Chennai meeting is the second edition of an informal summit between modi and XI. The first was in the picturesque Chinese lake city of Wuhan in April 2018, months after a 73-day standoff between the two countries ‘ armies in Doklam, they raised their relations to a record low.

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