Narendra Modi-Xi Jinping Meet: Everything You Need to Know About Indian PM and Chinese President's Second Informal Meet at Mahabalipuram

New Delhi, October 10: India is leaving no stones unturned to accord the marvellous welcome to Chinese President Xi Jinping on his made two-day visit to Tamil Nadu on Friday. Chinese President will spend nearly 24 hours in the country during his second informal bilateral meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Mahabalipuram. According to reports, Xi will land at the Chennai International Airport at about 4 pm on Friday. From there he will depart to Mahabalipuram by his Hongqi luxury car to meet PM Modi.

The two leaders will go around the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site housing rock-cut and stone carved monuments. They will be given a guided tour of three monuments - Panch Rathas, Arjuna's Penance, and the Shore Temple. Chinese President Xi Jinping In India For Informal Summit: Schedule From October 11-12.

Mahabalipuram is chosen for the summit as the historical city had ancient links with China during the Pallava dynasty. It was the major port city in the seventh century and served as a gateway between South India and China for import and transport of goods. Several epigraphical evidence, including coins and inscriptions of Chinese symbols, points towards the old-age link.

As a part of the welcoming ceremony, several students will greet President Xi by waving Indian and Chinese flags. An eight-feet stone sculpture of Goddess Meenakshi has also been temporarily installed at the Chennai airport. China to Help Pakistan Develop Faster and Better, Says Xi Jinping After Meeting Imran Khan.

On the security front, over 8,000 policemen have been deployed across Mahabalipuram to ensure safety. "There is a seven-layer security cordon thrown around the town. Armed police, bomb squad, commandos, anti-terror quick action forces are tactically deployed," said an official.

This is not the first time that PM Narendra Modi is hosting a foreign Premier outside the national capital. In 2014, the Chinese President was welcomed at Ahembdabad, during which he had visited the Sabarmati riverfront. French President Emmanuel Macron visited Varanasi and Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Bengaluru's Bosch Research Centre.

This is the second informal meeting of the two world leader. They had their first inaugural informal summit in China's Wuhan on April 27 and 28 last year. The summit will provide an opportunity to the two leaders to continue their discussions on overarching issues of bilateral, regional and global importance and to exchange views on deepening India-China Closer Development Partnership, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

(With Agency Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 10, 2019 11:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).