Modi begins his China trip by visiting landmark places
The PM made his first stop at the Terracotta Museum in the ancient Chinese capital of Xi'an after he was greeted on the airport tarmac by a dancing troupe.
Photographs posted on the social media network showed his comments in the visitors’ book “The Terracotta Army is a heritage of the world. It is a testimony to China’s civilisational achievements.”
Xi'an, the starting point of the ancient silk route is the capital of Shaanxi, President Xi Jinping’s ancestral home province.
Modi was then taken for a visit to Daxingshan temple which he found "beautiful."
"Daxingshan temple is beautiful.Visited various halls of the temple and interacted with monks," Modi tweeted.
Within a few hours, the PM was accompanied by President Xi Jinping at the Wild Goose Pagoda, the emblem of China’s umbilical ties with India. The Pagoda is dedicated to Xuan Zeng, the Chinese traveler and monk, who spent 17 years in India.
Earlier, on his arrival Modi tweeted, "Hello from Xi'an, China. Landed to a warm welcome followed by a spectacular visit to the terracotta warrior museum," he tweeted.
“Not an ordinary city. Not an ordinary welcome,” tweeted Vikas Swarup, the foreign office spokesperson.
Leading a 50-strong delegation including senior officials and business leaders, Modi is likely to hold discussions on contentious issues like the border dispute and China’s move to rope in India into the “Silk Road” projects, over which India has strong reservations.
Modi will then head to Beijing and China’s financial hub Shanghai, seeking to deliver on election promises to attract foreign investment for India.
Modi's formal talks with the Chinese leadership will take place on Friday in Beijing.
Ahead of his trip, the PM said he firmly believed “this visit to China will strengthen the stability, development and prosperity of Asia”.
“I am confident my visit will lay the foundation for further enhancing economic co-operation with China in a wide range of sectors,” he wrote on Twitter last week.
China too is said to be attaching considerable importance to Modi's visit.
Modi will hold talks with President Xi in the evening.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
