Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Chennai to a red carpet welcome on Friday for his second informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid a strain in bilateral ties over the hardline approach on the Kashmir issue by both sides.
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister E K Palaniswami, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri welcomed Xi at the Chennai airport on his nearly 24-hour visit.
"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.
A brief cultural ceremony reflecting Tamil Nadu's cultural heritage was organised at the airport to welcome the visiting leader.
Shortly after Xi's aircraft touched down in Chennai, government sources said the two leaders are expected to issue some directions at the end of the summit on Saturday as they did after the first edition of new format of engagement in Chinese city of Wuhan last year.
The two leaders will have around six-hours of one-on-one free-wheeling talks beginning their first engagement when Modi will take Xi on a guided tour of three iconic monuments of Mamallapuram -- Arjuna's Penance, Panch Rathas and the Shore temple from 5 PM.
The two leaders will also witness a cultural programme at the 7th century Shore temple complex following which Modi will host the Chinese leader for a private dinner. Eight delegates from each side were also invited for the dinner and they will sit in tables a little away from Xi and Modi's.
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Delicately selected authentic Tamil cuisines will be served in the dinner at the Shore temple complex overlook the Bay of Bengal, officials said.
On Saturday morning, Modi and Xi will have a comprehensive one-on-one meeting to be followed by delegation level talks. 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 speculations of its postponement in recent weeks," said a senior official on condition of anonymity.
Ahead of the two-day summit, Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Thursday told PTI that a "new set of consensus" including "guiding principles" on giving a new direction to the bilateral ties are expected from engagement.
Xi's visit comes two days after he held talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in Bejing during which Kashmir issue figured prominently.
A China-Pakistan joint statement issued after talks said China is paying "close attention" to the situation in Kashmir and that the issue is a dispute left from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter.
The comments angered India as it asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country and China is well aware of New Delhi's position.
Officials on both sides said the focus of the Modi-Xi summit would be to insulate the bilateral trade and development cooperation from differences on Kashmir and vexed boundary issue.
They said ways to bolster counter-terror cooperation, trade and enhancing cooperation between militaries of the two countries along the 3,500 KM border will be key focus of the talks.
This is the second edition of the informal summit between Modi and Xi. The first informal between the two leaders was held in picturesque Chinese lake city of Wuhan in April 2018, months after a 73-day face off between the armies of the two countries in Doklam tri-juction raised fears of a war between the two Asian giants.
Strategic affairs expert Ambassador Ashok Kantha said the focus of the summit on Friday and Saturday would be to move beyond contentious issues and not allow the Kashmir issue to adversely impact overall ties.
Mamallapuram, a town with strong trade linkages with China's Fujian province, has been spruced up and brought under un unprecedented security cover - in the process inconveniencing local people as well as tourists.
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