In pictures: The lowdown on the first day of Modi-Xi informal summit

Bonhomie and business dominate the first day of the second informal summit between the two leaders

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Xi, who arrived with a 90-member delegation, then proceeded to the port city of Mamallapuram, some 50 km away. The delegation consisted of senior members of the Communist Party of China, foreign minister Wang Yi, and others.

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This was the second informal summit between the two leaders, after the one at Wuhan last year.

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Modi took Xi on a tour that lasted nearly an hour, starting from a historical site called Arjuna Penance. Modi explained the history and mythology of the monuments to his Chinese counterpart in much the same manner as Xi had done for the Indian prime minister during the latter's visit to the Hubei provincial museum at Wuhan.

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On the first day, both the leaders discussed India’s trade deficit with China and the need to enhance bilateral trade by volume and value. They also discussed the challenge of radicalisation and terrorism.

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Officials said the two leaders were supposed to spend six hours over the course of the two-day summit , according to the original itinerary. However, they ended up spending nearly five hours on the first day itself.

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Briefing the media late Friday evening, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale stressed that Modi and Xi spent “quality time” with each other.

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Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said the two leaders spoke of their respective national visions and priorities of their governments, with the PM dwelling on his renewed mandate for economic development. Xi said he looked forward to working closely with Modi and was keen to engage on all issues for the rest of the PM’s current term.