With border and investments on agenda, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in India
Ahmedabad: Jinping, who arrived here from Sri Lanka, was welcomed by Gujarat Governor O P Kohli and Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, as well as the state Cabinet ministers.
The Chinese President is accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan. He is the first important foreign dignitary to begin his India visit from Gujarat.
On his arrival, Xi was accorded a police guard of honour.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he was Gujarat chief minister, had visited China multiple times and built a relationship with the Communist Party leadership there.
Highlighting the importance New Delhi is attaching to Xi's visit, Modi has come here to receive the Chinese President. The city has been decked up by the administration to welcome the Chinese President here.
The visit, for which elaborate security arrangements have been made, will witness signing of three MoUs between China and Gujarat, Modi's home state.
Tight security has been put in place for Xi's visit.
Gujarat Police with the help from Central security agencies have made necessary arrangements.
During his brief stop here, Xi along with Modi will attend a business meet, visit Sabarmati Ashram and riverfront, where a walk and dinner has been arranged for the President and the delegation accompanying him.
One of the MoUs, to be inked between China Development Bank (CDB) and Industrial Extension Bureau (iNDEXTb) of Gujarat government, relates to development of industrial parks in the state.
Another pact will be signed between China's Guangdong province and Gujarat government. The third MoU will be between Guangzhou and Ahmedabad cities for cultural exchange.
Top industrialists from both the countries will take part in the business meet.
The dinner, to be served in a dome on the Sabarmati Riverfront, will consist of only Gujarati delicacies and attended by 22 VVIPs, a government official said.
Xi, who arrived here in the afternoon, will leave for Delhi late in the evening.
Guard of honour given to Chinese President Xi Jinping at Ahmedabad airport pic.twitter.com/Oo2oyzU7PY
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 17, 2014Narendra Modi moved quickly to engage with China after taking office in May, and has pulled out all the stops for Xi's first state visit to India. Workers were out in force on the roads leading to Ahmedabad airport early Wednesday, repainting white lines and levelling the surface.
But Modi has also made clear he sees China as a competitor and intends to pursue a more muscular foreign policy than the previous centre-left Congress party government.
The neighbours, now nuclear-armed, fought a brief but bloody war in 1962 over the Arunachal Pradesh and are still embroiled in a bitter dispute over the territory.
Indian government recently eased restrictions on construction in the areas up to 100 kilometres of the disputed border, allowing the Indian military to build roads and other infrastructure in an area that China claims as its own.
Read: Ahead of President Xi Jinping's India visit, China violates LAC
But both sides say they want to focus on economic cooperation, with India seeking Chinese funding for a planned overhaul of its dilapidated railways and cooperation in nuclear energy.
"China-India relations have become one of the most dynamic and promising bilateral relations in the 21st century," wrote Xi in an article on Wednesday.
He said the "the world's factory and the world's back office" made a winning combination, welcoming Indian businesses to China and pledging funding for infrastructure development.
China is India's biggest trading partner, with annual two-way commerce of more than $65 billion. But Indian data shows the trade deficit with China has soared to more than $40 billion from just $1 billion in 2001-02.
Read: China reaches out to Modi, may commit $6.5 billion for industrial parks during Xi Jinping 's visit
Modi ran for election promising to revive India's flagging economy, which experts say has been held back by poor infrastructure. He called for more Chinese investment when he met Xi in Brazil in July.
China meanwhile is eager to cement its relationship with its western neighbour at a time of heightened tensions with Japan and several Southeast Asian nations over disputed sea territory.
Tibet protesters detained
Modi has spoken of his admiration for China's economic growth in the last decade.
But he also enjoys a close relationship with Japan's President Shinzo Abe, and analysts have said he may be able to leverage Beijing's rivalry with Tokyo to secure Chinese investment.
China's consul-general in Mumbai Liu Youfa told the Times of India daily ahead of the visit that Xi would "commit investments of over $100 billion", pointing out that this was three times the amount pledged by Japan during a visit by Modi earlier this month.
Xi heads to India after visiting the Maldives and Sri Lanka as China increasingly asserts its influence in a region that has traditionally come under India's sphere of influence.
Read: Xi Jinping visits India: Tibetans stage protest, 10 detained
Before flying out on Wednesday morning, Xi launched the construction of a $1.4 billion port city in Sri Lanka's capital, a strong reminder of Beijing's growing foothold in the Indian Ocean region.
Colombo has sought to allay Indian fears by insisting its relations with Beijing are based on commercial rather than security considerations.
But some in New Delhi still fear China's growing engagement in the region is a deliberate strategy to encircle India.
The presence in India of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, is another source of tension between India and China.
Police in New Delhi detained around 10 Tibetan protesters outside the Chinese embassy on Wednesday morning.
Another Tibetan was detained at the former hermitage of independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, now a museum, which Xi was due to visit later Wednesday.
The man, who was carrying a Tibetan flag, said he was there "to tell Xi to free Tibet".
Xi will have dinner with Modi in a tent on the riverbank in Ahmedabad, where he is expected to announce plans to build a Chinese-funded industrial park.
On Thursday he will hold formal talks with Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi and sign a series of agreements with the prime minister.
