Modi's USP lies in forging personal relations with Chinese leaders: Nirmala

She said her ministry had requested a hotline between India and China, helping in communication between the two countries in the case of any disputes such as Doklam

On the eve of a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday informal day-long meetings between them would improve relations between the countries in the long term. Her comment comes a day before Modi is scheduled to meet the Chinese president for the second time in a couple of months at the Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO). Speaking at seminar “Trends and Transformations in China’s Geo-Politics, Strategy, Society and Business”, jointly organised by the Chennai Centre for the China Studies and National Maritime Foundation, Tamil Nadu, she said: “This