Prime Narendra Modi tonight left for China for a three-day visit, expressing confidence that his trip would deepen mutual trust, work out a roadmap for upgrading bilateral economic ties and set a "new milestone" for Asia and developing nations.
Modi, who is undertaking his first visit to China as Prime Minister, will reach the ancient city of Xi'an, the home town of President Xi Jinping, for a summit meeting, an unusual departure from normal protocol and seen as a reciprocal gesture by the Chinese leader who was hosted by Modi in Ahmedabad when he visited India in September last year.
"I am looking forward to the trip to China... The 21st century belongs to Asia," the Prime Minister told Chinese media ahead of his visit that will also take him to Mongolia and South Korea.
The Prime Minister, who is accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and senior officials, hoped that his visit will "further deepen" India-China relations and set a "new milestone" for Asia and developing countries.
"I believe that my trip to China will not only deepen the China-India friendship, but also set a new milestone for the relations between developing countries in Asia as well as around the world. There is no doubt about that," he told state-run CCTV ahead of this visit.
Modi said he wants to focus on how India and China can further strengthen mutual trust and confidence, so as to realise the full potential of the relationship.
"I look forward to working out a roadmap for qualitatively upgrading our economic relations and seek greater Chinese participation in India's economic growth, especially in transforming India's manufacturing sector and infrastructure," he said.
The Prime Minister said he believes the relationship between India and China can be one of the most important relationships of the century.
"I intend to work with the Chinese leadership to lay the foundation for this," state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Modi as saying.
He said India and China have made great progress in bilateral relations in recent years and managed their differences with patience and maturity.
Faced with irritants like the boundary issue and China's plans for infrastructure projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Modi will have a tough task as he meets the Chinese leadership.
Modi noted that he had met President Xi three times during the last one year and held extensive talks on a wide range of issues.
